


A Bond to Last Lifetimes

by MysticWolfShadows



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, F/M, Iron Man 3, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Soul Bond, Soulmates, The Avengers (2012) - Freeform, biological children, dad tony stark, playing with genetics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-08-09 12:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 51,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7801840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticWolfShadows/pseuds/MysticWolfShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A soulmate is the perfect match. Perfect in every way. One touch, and the souls mesh together, bonding two people together in mind and spirit. It was sacred, especially in the 1940’s, when people began to find soulmates who had met many times, in previous lives. One such pair is Steve Rogers and Antonio Carbonell. And Steve is happy with his new found bond, but things get strange when Steve wakes up in the 21st century.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Rescue and a Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve enters the Hydra compound and finds not only his best friend and the missing 107th, but two captive Italians, one of which happens to be his soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning to the story is always the easiest for me to write, so sorry if this chapter is a bit better then the rest of the story.  
> Like all of my stories, there is a plea for your thoughts on the concept and questions at the end of the chapter! Questions from readers are always welcome!

Steve Rogers dropped from the plane into the battle zone without worry. He has prepared for anything that happened tonight. He would save Bucky and the other soldiers from the 107th, and he would get them all home.

He made it in easy enough, stowing away in a truck and climbing out when it stopped at the facility. Steve did some looking, eventually finding the prisoners, and knocked out the guard. The men scrambled to their feet as he scooped up the keys.

"Who you supposed to be?" A black man asked.

Steve looked around, checking for anymore guards. "I'm... Captain America."

"I beg your pardon?" A British man asked.

Steve hurried down, unlocking the cages. Men pooled out around him. Steve couldn't see Bucky anywhere. He stopped a few of the men quickly.

"Is there anybody else?" He asked as he looked further into the room, where empty cages were. "I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes."

"There's an isolation ward in the factory," the British man said smoothly. "But no one's ever come back from it."

"I have," a woman's voice called from the dark, making everyone stop and turn. Her words had a hint of an Italian accent, and Steve wondered if she was with Hydra. "Please, they have my brother up there! He's a scientist, using me to make him do things!"

There were mutterings as men looking at each other, asking one another is they knew she had been there. No one seemed to have realized, and Steve hurried into the dark, squinting to see. He spotted her quickly, and moved to unlock her cell.

She quickly rushed out, her dark hair a mess of curls and dirt. In fact, it looked like her entire face was smeared with dirt. Steve barely had enough time to catch her before she tripped on the tattered remains of the floor length dress she was wearing. He pulled her up to her feet and walked her towards the men.

"I can take you to the isolation ward," the woman said as Steve led her to the man with the bowler hat. "Please, You must save my brother. He's all I have left, and-"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Steve said as he looked down at her. She had... very familiar looking brown eyes, but where he couldn't place. "I can't take you with me, so this soldier is going to help you get out while I go find your brother and a friend of mine."

She bit her lip, looking like she wanted to argue, and quickly nodded. Steve then turned to lead the way from the room.

"The tree line is north west, 80 yards past the gate," he told them. "Get out fast and give 'em hell. I'll meet you guys in the clearing with her brother and anybody else I find."

"Wait," the woman said, causing him to pause as he turned. "My name is Maria. Maria Carbonell. My brother, his name is Antonio. Tell him 'Maria waits for the light'. It is a code. He will know what it means."

Quickly, Steve nodded, and ran down the hall without further interruption. As the men escaped with Maria, Steve rushed to look for Bucky and this Antonio. He turned down a brick hallway, stopping as he spotted a man hurrying from a room, a coat and briefcase in hand.

The man paused to look at him, wide eyed, as someone shouted from the room he had just left. He spared a glance inside, then took off running. Steve hurried to follow, hearing the jingling of chains from the room to his left.

"Wait!" A voice called, strained. "Zola, you bastard!"

Steve slowly crept into the room, eyes widening at what he finds. Bucky lay on a table, muttering to himself. And Italian man with messy, dark hair was tugging fruitlessly at a long chain looped around a foot of the table to be latched on his leg.

The man looked up, falling back in surprise as Steve leaned over his best friend.

"Bucky? Oh my god..."

Steve quickly pulled the straps free, breaking them easily as the Italian man stared. Bucky also stared.

"Is that..."

"It's me," Steve says quickly. "It's Steve."

"Steve?" Bucky said slowly grinning.

"Come on."

"Steve," Bucky said again as he pulled him up, grinning.

"I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were smaller."

"Not to interrupt what is probably a soulmate reunion," the Italian man says, drawing both of their attention. "But can the big man who can apparently break leather try to break these chains? My sister is-"

"We aren't soulmates. He's like my brother." Steve blinked, remembering Maria. "Antonio, right? Maria waits for the light."

Antonio slowly smiled, it quickly turning into a grin. "Antonio arrives in the night. Now, help me get out?"

Steve quickly nodded, letting Bucky lean against the table. He grabbed the chain with both hands as close as he could to the man's ankle as he could without touching, and yanked hard. The link between his hands snapped almost instantly, and Steve let go, turning to go help steady Bucky as he swayed.

Antonio climbed to his feet, and Steve caught sight of a map over his shoulder. It had six marks on it, and he quickly memorized them. Then, Steve turned, helping Bucky walk as the Italian followed.

"What happened to you?" Bucky managed to get out as they reached to door, Antonio looking out to check for any guards.

"I joined the Army," Steve said, quickly taking lead, and letting Bucky walk on his own.

"Did it hurt?"

"A little."

"Permanent?"

"So far."

"Hurry up," Antonio said, just before the building shook, things exploding.

They climbed several stairs, making their way up. Antonio reached the top first, and sucked in an angry breath. Steve was about to ask what was wrong, when the shout found his ears.

"Captain America," Schmidt called from across a catwalk. "How exciting! I am a great fan of your films."

Steve stared for a moment, then took a few slow steps forward.

"So. Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still, impressive."

Before Steve could even think, his arm cocked back and his fist slammed into Schmidt's face. The German stumbled back, his hand coming up to his face.

"You've got no idea," Steve hissed, anger surging him.

Schmidt slowly stood back up, his hand coming away from his face. It looked... wrong. No red mark to show how hard Steve had hit him, and one of his eyes looked like the skin was half peeled from his face. Schmidt threw a punch, and Steve used the shield to block, the metal denting.

Quickly, Steve kicked out Schmidt's legs. The man fell with a grunt, and behind him, the scientist pulled a lever, making the catwalk slowly retract. Steve watched as Schmidt got to his feet.

"No matter what lies Erskine told you," he shouted as a hand moved to his face. "I was his greatest success!"

And Steve watched with horror as Schmidt pulled his own face off, revealing nothing but bare, red bone. A red skull.

Behind him, Antonio muttered quietly, almost to himself. "You don't have one of those do you?"

"You are deluded, Captain." Schmidt said, sounding almost mockingly sympathetic. "You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear."

Steve was about to speak up, ask... something, when Antonio launched forward, gripping the rail as he leaned over it and shouted in his Italian hinted accent.

"Then why are you running?" He shouted. "Why not shoot us? Why not kill us now? It's because you're afraid! You are afraid, you coward!"

Something else exploded, and Steve sucked in a breath, looking around wildly for another way out, and he found it.

"Come on," he said, shoving Bucky towards another set of stairs. "Come on, up!"

He paused, to turn to Antonio, who was shouting something about research and god complexes. Steve gave Bucky another push, and turned to Antonio.

"Come on!" Steve said, reaching to grab for the man's arm.

"No," Antonio said quickly. "That bastard-"

They both suck in a breath as Steve's fingers brush the bare skin of Antonio's arm, a spark seeming to be created from the brush of skin. Steve knew what this was. He'd seen it when it happened to the couple that now lived across the hall from him and Bucky back in New York. It was a spark, a sign you found your soulmate.

When it had happened to the couple across the hall, the two had jerked apart, surprised. But not Antonio. Antonio's hand flashed forward, and grasped onto Steve's and they both sucked in gasps as the surge of energy filled them.

They were soulmates.

And they just bonded.

"Okay," Antonio said, voice soft and quiet, barely a whisper, with his eyes wide.

It took Steve a second to understand what Antonio meant. Okay? Okay what?

Then he heard Bucky shouting at him from above, and Steve felt the heat in the room. He turned, hand still grasping Antonio's, and pulled Antonio up the stairs. Steve led the way to a beam, bent and unstable. He looked from the beam to Bucky, then to Antonio, and pushed his new found soul mate to his best friend.

"You to go first," Steve said as he started to strapped his shield on his back. "I'll be right behind you."

Steve could feel a surge of fear and worry rush through the new and raw bond, and he gave Antonio what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I'll be right behind you," Steve said again, helping Bucky over the railing onto the beam. When Antonio didn't move, Steve plucked him up easily, and set him down on the beam next to his best friend. "Help him across," he told Bucky, pulling his sleeves from Antonio's grasp.

Bucky, bless his soul, didn't question it, and simple pulled Antonio away from the rail, and across the beam. Steve knew it wouldn't hold all of them, and he watched with held breath as the beam creaked and groaned, Bucky freezing for a moment.

Then, Bucky grabbed Antonio, throwing him over the opposite rail, and lunged, grabbing the rail just as the beam fell away. Antonio screeched, jumping to his feet and moving to grab the railing with wide eyes.

"There has to be a rope!" Antonio shouted over the destruction of the factory, looking around quickly. "Or... or something!"

"Just go!" Steve shouted, turning his gaze to Bucky. "Get out of here!"

"No!"

"Not without you!" Bucky shouted in agreement.

Steve panted for a moment, watching his soulmate and best friend stand across the inferno, waiting for him. He knew they wouldn't leave. Not without him. He looked around, cursing lightly, before grabbing part of the broken railing and pushing it, bending it to give him a wide opening.

Steve took several steps back, going until there wasn't any more space to go, and took a running start. He lept across the flaming abyss, an explosion sending him flying into the railing where Antonio and Bucky stood. They quickly hauled him over, gripping the shoulders of this coat tight as he landed on the floor.

He barely got a chance to catch his breath before the surge of emotion took him as Antonio grasped his face, crashing their lips together. Fear, relief, hope, gratefulness, and so many other things bombarded his mind through the bond as Antonio kissed him, hard. Their lips pressed together for what almost felt like a lifetime, Antonio pulling back to poke him in the chest, just as hard as he had kissed him.

"Don't do that again," Antonio hissed, eyes narrowed, "without me next to you, understood."

Steve nodded, quick and short, and pulled Antonio to his feet as he scrambled up, glancing at Bucky. His best friend was staring, confused.

"Soulmate," Steve said with a grin, pointing to Antonio.

Bucky gaped, then shook his head, hurrying for the door. "Idiot."

They all hurried out, managing to evacuate the premises before the building came down. Steve led the way to the clearing where the men from the prison where waiting, along with Antonio's sister. They reached it quickly, finding it with ease as they had taken a few tanks, and a lot of guns.

Maria was waiting with the man in the bowler hat, the black man, a British man, and a Japanese looking guy. She was holding a gun, looking very serious and irritated as she glared at the treeline. As soon as she saw Antonio, she took off running, her bare feet smacking the ground and gun still in hand. Antonio rushed to meet her, enveloping her in his arms, hugging her tight.

"Maria!" He gasped, pulling back to look at her. "Oh, Maria, are you hurt? They didn't hurt you, did they? God god, your dress!"

"Never mind the dress," she snapped, punching his shoulder. "You took too long! Next time you take so long, I'm coming after you!"

Antonio laughed, ruffling his sister's hair before turning to Steve, grinning, inviting. Steve hurried walked over, Bucky going to talk with some of the men after patting him on the shoulder.

"Maria," Antonio said as he reached up to grasp Steve's shoulder. "This is... Steve? I'm pretty sure his name is Steve. But we're soulmates, Maria! He's my soulmate!"

Maria gasped, eyes wide, and dropped her gun. She looked between them, then spoke quickly in what must have been italian.

"Anima gemella? Antonio questo è incredibile!"

"Lo so, Maria! E guardatelo! Lui è semplicemente stupendo!"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Antonio!"

He grinned, holding up his hands in surrender. Then, he turned to Steve, eyes shining with curiosity, and hope. "So where to, oh soulmate of mine?"

Steve blushed a little, smiling as he turned to glance at the troops. "Back to base."

Everyone cheered, and Bucky came back over to walk with him. Antonio stood beside him, Maria on his other side, as they started walking. He kept his hand in Steve's as they walked, mostly silent, as he seemed to test the bond, pushing emotions through it, and a jumbled mess that might have been a thought? Steve didn't mind. He pushed emotions back, flowing them as if in response.

It was amazing!

About half way back to camp, Antonio stopped playing with the bond, and turned to look at Bucky.

"So our first meeting could have gone better. I'm Antonio."

Bucky gave him a hard look, then snorted. "You're tellin' me. You know what this guy told me when they first strapped me down on the table? He told me he wasn't gonna lie and that what they were going to do was gonna hurt like hell."

Steve almost paused, turning to look at Antonio. "You experimented on him?"

Worry and fear rushed at him, flashing in his mind before Antonio seemed to yank the emotions back, burying them deep inside as what could only be described as a dam was built in Antonio’s half.

"Nah," Bucky said as he shook his head. "They made Tony build the machine, but he never ran it. They said something about making him watch?"

Steve frowned deepened, and he turned to Antonio, who quickly tried to change the topic, still building that dam in their bond.

"Tony?" Antonio asked, grinning. "I like it. Maria, I'm Tony from now on okay? I like Tony, short, sweet, and right to the point. I-"

"Antonio," Steve said, eyes boring into his soulmates as he lightly pushed on the wall in their bond. "Don't do that. I'm not mad. But don't do that."

Instantly, Antonio snapped his mouth shut, and the wall crumbled before it was even finished, relief flowing freely through. Steve instantly pushed love back through, and he took in a deep, shuddering breath.

He stayed silent a moment, then spoke. "I do like Tony, though."

Steve smiled, moving to place a kiss to his soulmates temple. "Tony it is then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: Those that read the comics or researched about Marvel, probably know who she really is, but what do you think of Maria Carbonell?


	2. The Arrival and an Argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony arrives at the camp with Steve, and they work to get used to the bond they now have.  
> This chapter is... quite a bit shorter, and the lengths will probably continue to alternate.

When they arrived at the camp, Tony was surprised by how many were waiting to meet them. People cheered, and many came rushing from tents to see what the commotion was about. Steve led the way around, Tony, Maria, and Bucky staying close to him.

However, Steve soon came to a halt, saluting an older looking man that stood before him, who looked from Steve, to Tony and Maria.

"Some of these men need medical attention," Steve said to get the man's attention. "I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action."

"That won't be necessary," the man said as he once again turned to look at Tony and Maria.

Tony stood straight beside his soulmate, head held high and proud. This man thought he could intimidate him? Hah! No a chance. He could practically feel Maria rolling her eyes next to him, though. Not that it mattered. Until he felt Steve push something through the bond. Behave? Tony was behaving!

"And who are these two?" the man says as he looks them both over.

"Maria Carbonell," Maria says before Tony can say anything. "And this is my brother, Antonio Carbonell. He's a scientist."

"Engineer," Tony corrected. "And I prefer Tony."

"You've only known Tony was an option for a a day or so."

"Yes, but I prefer Tony."

"They were being held captive in the Hydra base," Steve tells the man, interrupting the argument. "They were using Maria as blackmail for Tony to build things for them. Tony is... Well, he's my soulmate."

The man seemed to study Steve for a minute, and Tony narrowed his eyes, practically daring him to question it. The man didn't, and instead turned to a woman Tony hadn't noticed before.

"Take Rogers and male Carbonell to Stark one Rogers debriefs. Mrs. Carbonell will be staying with you, understood, Agent Carter?"

"Of course, Sir."

The woman stepped forward, and looked Maria over, them Tony. He smirked at her, pressing himself against Steve's side, just because he could. She looked about ready to say something, but Bucky interrupted, getting everyone to shout and cheer for Steve. Tony joined in, hollering and jumping before he kissed Steve again.

They broke apart as the cheers grew louder, someone shouting about 'cheers for finding your soulmate in the weirdest of places'. Carter sighed, and Steve followed, motioning for Tony and Maria to do the same.

They had Steve bend over a large map for a while, until he had marked all six of the factories that had been on the map in the lab he found Tony and Bucky in. Tony helped, pointing out the location of the facility that Hydra had kept him and Maria at previously. Waves of worry for Tony and anger at Hydra swept through the bond, and Tony sent little sparks of emotion back to show Steve that he was fine.

They soon when to an even larger map, where little flags marked the Hydra facilities.

"Tony and Sergeant Barnes said that Hydra was sending all the parts to another facility that isn't on this map," Steve said, matter of factly, looking at the Colonel as Tony moved to look around.

"Agent Carter," Phillips, that was his name, said as he turned. "I want every allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base."

"What about us?" Carter asked, glancing at Tony as he 'ooh’ed and pulled a gun off the shelf.

"We are going to set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass. What do you say, Rogers? It's your map. You think you can wipe Hydra off it?"

"Yes, sir," Steve said, glancing back at the map. "I'll need a team."

"We're already putting together the best men."

Tony grinned, bounding forward with several guns in his pockets and a few soldiers trying to get them back.

"Well," Tony said as he pulled out a screw driver. "So are we."

Steve looked down at Tony, eyeing the gun Tony was modified as several agents pulled other guns from his pockets. He clearly disapproved of taking the guns, but Tony just grinned at him and kept fiddling.

"Come on Tony," Steve said as he led the way out of the map room. "Let's go talk to the team."

Tony nodded, looking around for his sister for a moment, finding her gone. Maria was a big girl, though, and still had that gun. She could take care of herself. So Tony followed Steve to a bar, where the team they were planning on making was already sitting at a table.

He didn't listen to most of what Steve said to them, mostly focusing on modifying the gun. It should fire faster, now. Less reload time. If he got his hand on another gun, he could make an interchangeable clip. He barely noticed when the men agreed, and Steve got up, placing a kiss to the top of Tony's head as he left.

By the time Steve came back, Tony had unconsciously drank six glasses as the men watched in astonishment. He was muttering equations to himself and the gun was disassembled across the table and he had built... something out of it.

"Alright," Steve said sternly. "Time for bed."

"Not tired," Tony says as he reaches for his glass again, only to find it not there, and Steve pulling him up. "No," he whined, trying to gather up all of his bits and pieces. "Not done yet!"

"Time for bed," Steve says again, pushing something through the bond that really peaked Tony's interest.

"Oh," Tony said as he paused. "Oh! Okay, yes. Yes, bedtime. Letto tempo. I all for that. Tutti per esso."

Steve smiled, gathering up the bits and pieces, and led Tony away. When they got to Steve's tent, Tony placed lazy, grinning kisses against Steve's lips. Steve frowned, pulling back as he set the parts down on a table.

"I can taste the alcohol on you," Steve says, turning to lead Tony to the large bed. "You're going to sleep it off, and then we're going to see Howard in the morning."

Steve sat Tony on the bed, and knelled to untie Tony's dirty work boots. They hadn't been able to find anything Tony's size when they got back, so he was still in the clothes Hydra made him wear. It was a grease smeared shirt and a coat two sizes too big, and slacks that were too long and torn in places.

Tony looked sleepily down at Steve, his soulmate, through the haze of alcohol on his brain. Steve had pulled off the shoes, and set them neatly to the side, and had carefully pulled off Tony's coat and shirt and slacks, before holding out a t-shirt and a pair of night pants.

He didn't question it, and pulled them on, watching as Steve changed. Steve was good. Steve wasn't like Hydra, not at all. Hydra got him drunk on purpose, because he made interesting things when he was drunk. He couldn't remember if he made the guns or now. He couldn't remember...

The bed dipped on the other side, and Tony looked over his shoulder to find Steve sitting there, as if waiting for something. For a second, Tony wasn't sure what. Then it hit him. Steve was waiting for him. For him to say something, do something, anything.

So Tony turned, pressing a light kiss to Steve's shoulder, and slowly pulled the man until he was paying down, blinking up at at Tony.

"Tony?" Steve asked, reaching up with one hand, unsure.

He shooshed him, nestling into the the tight space under Steve's arm. The bed was really only meant for one, after all. Steve remained tense for a moment, then turned onto his side, wrapping his arms around Tony and pulling him close. They both remained awake for a few minutes, slowly getting used to the position. They had only known eachother for a day, for twenty four hours.

But they soon fell asleep, getting used to the feelings coursing through them quickly.

The next morning, Tony woke as Steve came back in. His head hurt a bit, and he could see a pile of parts of what might be a gun on a table He groaned as Steve came over, gently pulling the thin blanket away. Tony could feel Steve smiling at him, and rolled onto his stomach, pulling the pillow over his head.

"Come on Tony," Steve said as he set some clothes on the bed. "We finally got some clothes for you and Maria."

"Oh?" Tony yawned as he sat up, giving the clothes a critical look.

They were very fancy clothes, and not like the uniform Steve was wearing. These clothes were civilian, with a white button up and dark slacks. It was a stiff suit, and Tony didn't really want to put it on, but he did anyway, adjusting the suspenders that came with it.

Steve nodded in approval, and Tony felt him push a bit of gratitude through to him. Tony understood why Steve didn't want him back in his old clothes. They were battered and torn, a sign of his imprisonment. These clothes were clean and new, a sign he was safe and well.

"So," Tony began as he gathered up the bits and pieces of... a gun? Yes, a gun. "Last night you said something about... Hay-ward? Everything from last night is hazy."

"Howard," Steve corrected as he led the way from the tent. "He's a genius, and an engineer, and has some equipment to test. I figure you can work with him while I'm out on the field."

Tony paused, blinking before his eyes narrowed. While... Steve was on the field? Did Steve think he was going to go in without him? That he would just sit back and let his soulmate go out without him?

He knew his anger and frustration was smashing into Steve through the bond, but he didn't care, scowling at the gun in his hands. Worry and confusion tried to inch their way to him from Steve's side of the bond, and Tony forced them away, spotting Maria and the female agent not to far.

"I'm going to go talk to Maria," Tony said matter of factly, turning and walking away from Steve without another word. He knew his soulmate was watching him, but Steve soon left, as Tony reached the agent and his sister.

Maria instantly knew that something was wrong. She gave him a look, as Agent... Carter? Yes, as Agent Carter rose a brow.

"Steve doesn't think I should be in the field."

Instantly, both girls scowled, disapproving. Maria put a hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly, as Carter crossed her arms. They both looked about ready to hunt down Steve and shoot him. Carter, however, had a better idea.

"You made that gun?" She asked, gesturing to his hands.

He looked down and- Oh! Would you look at that! The gun was all put together again! Tony nodded to Carter, and she smirked.

"Then when you see the chance, prove you know how to use it."

Maria nodded, excitedly, and turned to follow Carter towards where Steve had headed off to. It looked like a storage room and lab, and Carter led the way until the rounded a corner, where Steve was standing with a man with a mustache and civilian clothes.

Steve had a large round shield on his arm, and he turned to look at them, at Tony, as Carter spoke.

"You quite finished, Mr. Stark?" Carter asked, head held high. "I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business."

Steve turned, holding up the shield with a hopeful smile, eyes on Tony.

"What do you think?"

The three of them stared for a moment, and Tony's eyes narrowed. In a split second, the gun in his hand was raised, held with an expertise that rivaled a master. In that split second, Steve's eyes went wide, the shield coming up. Tony emptied the entire clip into the shield, the bullets all hitting within an inch on each other, and flattening against the metal, falling harmlessly to the ground.

When Tony had fired all twelve of the bullets in the clip, he pressed a little button on the side. The empty clip fell to the floor, and Tony snatched another clip up from the table next to him, slamming it in and continuing his assault on the shield without even blinking.

Once the new clip was empty, Tony looked down at the smoking gun, looking pleased as Steve slowly looked over the rim of the shield.

"Looks like it works," Tony says, heart pumping with glee as he turned to gun around in his hand, then looked toward Steve. "And I think the shield works, too."

He turned on his heel, walking away with Maria and Carter in toe.

Steve came to him later, when Tony had returned to the lab, and had carved out his own personal table in the back. He hung back for a moment, not saying anything as he watched Tony work. If it hadn't been for the bond, Tony probably wouldn't have realized he was there, but as it seemed like a trending thing that when Steve saw him, love and confusion and worry spilled across the bond.

"I know you're there," Tony says as he puts together another gun. "No sense in lurking."

He slowly came forward, sitting down as Tony turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry," Steve said. "For whatever I said or did. I'm sorry."

Tony studied him for a moment, then turned back to his work. "I work with Howard while you're in the field? Sounds like you don't think I can fight."

Steve was silent for a minute, then slowly slid apologetic emotions through the bond. Tony scowled as it gently prodded his mind, and pushed frustration back at Steve. Understanding rushed him, enveloping him like a warm blanket. They sat silently for a moment, before Steve spoke again.

"I thought you would be more comfortable staying with Howard," Steve said as he moved to wrap his arms around him. "You said you were an engineer, and I thought that you would prefer staying here. I assumed, and I'm sorry."

He didn't say anything, and instead turned to place a kiss on Steve's lips. Steve quickly returned it, gently poking hopefulness to Tony. Tony pushed understanding back in return, and pulled back, pressing his forehead to Steve's.

"I'll stay here every other mission," he said as he pecked Steve's lips. "I'm going with you the rest of the time."

Steve smiled against his lips, and gave him a light peck. They could work with this. It was alright.

And true to his word, Tony went on missions with Steve. He spent every other mission in the lab, fixing gear, and upgrading Steve’s. He watched little newsreels when he wasn’t on missions, with Phillips, Carter, and Maria. Tony didn’t hold back his glee when he found out Steve had a picture of him in his compass. It worked through the bond and Steve pushed his love back. 

Their bond grew stronger every day, slowly developing until they had the emotion sharing down to an almost telepathic communication, knowing exactly what the other meant without any context, and they didn’t need to actually speak to know what the other wanted. It apparently freaked out a few of the team, the Howling Commandos, and they told Tony stories about the missions they went on without him, when Steve would turn bright red and mutter Tony’s name under his breath from Tony pushing less than innocent thoughts through the bond. 

Tony soon had to stop, since he became focused on trying to stop whatever the ‘thing’ that was happening between Maria and Howard. It was very concerning, how he would find Maria in the lab, when she knew he hadn’t been planning to be working that day. He knew Maria and Howard weren’t like Steve and himself, but it’s not like he didn’t try to support Maria in her wishes. 

Tony got along better with Bucky as time went on. He earned the ‘Bucky Stamp of Approval’, in a way, when he fixed the sniper’s rifle, and the Commandos all loved what he and Howard did to their truck. Tony was part of the team. He saved all of their asses enough to be given that right. 

Even if he kept freaking them out with his silent, mental conversations with Steve. 

But he and Steve were great, and were so close to finishing everything they had been working for. They started to make plans for when the war was over, when Hydra was gone, and they could go home. For when Steve could show Tony what home was. 

They made plans to get married when they got back to the states. 

But neither could know just what would happen, or how soon it would all end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second Question: With a peek at the relationship between Steve and Antonio Carbonell, do you think his relationship with Anthony Stark will be similar or different?


	3. A Death and an Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things go wrong on a mission, and Steve takes on Schmidt.

The mission was simple. They would zip line down onto a train, get in, and get Zola. They were waiting for Jones to decipher a message, Steve standing at the ledge of the cliff next to the zip line with Bucky and Tony.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah," Steve says as Tony raised a brow. "And I threw up?"

"This isn't payback, is it?"

Steve turned, looking at the lightly bouncing line. "Now why would I do that?"

"You haven't told me this story," Tony says, looking between the two men.

"I'll tell you later," Bucky says, turning as Jones speaks up.

"We were right. Doctor Zola's on the train." Steve and Bucky turned to look at Jones, who still had a headphone to his ear. "Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."

Steve glanced from Tony to Bucky, and nodded as he pulled on his helmet. He turned to get the line rigged as Tony adjusted his hollister. The train was coming in quick, and Steve was a little worried about his soulmate, but not very. Tony was a daredevil. Loved going fast, loved a feeling like flying.

"We only got about a ten second window," Steve told the men as he got ready to go. "You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield."

"Mind the gap," one of them said, smirking.

"Better get moving, bugs!" Dum Dum shouted, grinning in return.

Steve adjusted his footing, glancing back at Tony for a second, then turned back to wait for the signal. One of the men shouted for him to go, and he launched himself forward, the line dipping under his weight as he zipped down. He knew Tony and Bucky were close behind, feeling Tony's excitement through the bond and hearing his whoop, just barely, over the roar of wind in his ears.

They came dropped down onto the train, laying flat for a moment before standing and making their way forward. They found a ladder, and climbed down and into the train. Steve took lead, shield at the ready as Tony took rear, his handguns ready. Bucky took center, rifle ready to shoot down an enemy over Steve or Tony's shoulders.

As Steve moved to the next car, the doors slammed closed, separating him from Bucky and Tony. He felt Tony's alarm through the bond, and saw as his soulmate ducked, Bucky letting loose with his rifle. Steve turned, finding a Hydra member there with some kind of cannon.

He shot, with the gun Tony gave him, quick and fast, but it did nothing as the Hydra agent charged the cannon and fired. Steve ducked for cover, holding up the shield to try and shoot the agent down again. The cannon fired again and again, leaving large, smoldering holes in the wall of the car. He waited for a moment, then ran forward, grabbing a hook and gliding across the car, knocking the Hydra agent onto his back. With a swing of his arm, Steve slammed his shield into the man's chest.

Quickly, now that the Hydra agent was unconscious, Steve grabbed one of the guns, using it to blow out the door, and hurried to get back to Tony and Bucky.

They were pinned on either side of the door, Tony firing quickly, trying to get the spare clip from his belt, Bucky's gun empty.

Steve smacked to door release, and tossed Bucky his gun. Tony stopped firing, and Steve rushed forward, slamming his shield into a case, making the Hydra grunt dodge to the side. Bucky easily took him out with a single shot after that.

They both get up, flanking Steve.

"We had him on the ropes," Bucky says quickly.

Steve panted, smirking. "I know you did."

There was a whirring sound behind them, and Steve turned, the glow of the Hydra cannon his only warning. He threw up his shield, shouting for Tony and Bucky to get down.

The blast ricocheted, blasting open the car and sending them all flying. Tony shouted, and Steve could see him dangling from a pipe outside the train, thousands of feet in the air. He saw Bucky scramble up, grabbing the shield and holding it up as he shoots at the man. The cannon goes off again, and Bucky goes flying out the hole.

Steve sucked in a breath, jumping up and throwing the shield at the man. The man flew back, and Steve threw off his helmet, running to the hole in the wall.

"Tony!" He shouted. "Bucky!"

Tony was dancing with one hand on the bar, his feet scrambling for purchase, as his other hand tries to pull Bucky up. Bucky was holding onto Tony's hand with one hand, the other reaching out to try and take hold of the broken wall. Steve rushed out, climbing along the broken wall to his best friend and soulmate. He could feel the fear exploding from Tony, and his own matched it as he tried to reach out to them.

The wind whipped around them, the bar cracking, and Tony froze, turning to stare as it broke. His lips moved, the wind taking the words without a care as Steve stared in horror, both of them falling.

Steve stared in horror, watching them fall as he clung to the wall. He reached out with the bond, feeling Tony, hoping that he would somehow, somehow survive. But within seconds, the fear he felt from Tony was gone.

And not just the fear.

Everything was gone.

There was no bounce back of emotion that Steve got when Tony was unconscious or asleep, no return feelings to tell him he was okay.

Tony was gone.

When he returned from the mission, the sky was dark. He didn't know what to do, and walked to the first building he saw. The bar.

He hadn't drank since he met Tony, and he wondered just how much he would need to drink to get drunk. He walked in, righted the only table left whole, and grabbed all the alcohol he could find and a glass before sitting down. He poured himself what seemed to be whiskey, and chugged the entire thing.

The taste was intense, and he thought for a second, that just maybe, he would be able to get drunk, but the effect was soon gone, and he stared forlornly at the glass.

A crunch made him glance behind him, and Peggy stood at the door.

"Doctor Erskine," Steve said as he sniffed, reaching out to take the bottle again, "said the serum wouldn't just affect my muscles, it would affect my cells." He poured another glass, feeling another wave of tears flow from his eyes. "Create a... a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means, uh... I can't get drunk. Did you know that?"

Peggy gave him a sympathetic look, turning to grab a chair that was near by.

"Your metabolism," she says slowly, "burns four times faster than the average person. He thought it would be one of the side effects."

She sat down studying him as he looked down at his glass. They were silent for a moment. Steve knew what she was going to say. He knew what it was, and he didn't want to hear it. Because it was. It was, and dear got Tony and Bucky were dead. His soulmate and best friend were dead!

"It's not your fault," Peggy says anyway.

Steve didn't look at her, and sniffed as he took a deep breath. "Did you read the report?"

"Yes."

"Then you know that's not true. And I doubt Maria would agree with you."

"You did everything you could," Peggy says softly. "Maria know that, and she doesn't blame you. Hydra is to blame."

"I could have made him stay here for this mission," Steve argued.

"Did you believe in your soul mate, and in your friend? Did you respect him?" He looked up at her for the first time and she smiles lightly. "Then stop blaming yourself. Allow them the dignity of their choices. They damn well must have thought you were worth it."

"I'm going after Schmidt," Steve says after a minute. "I'm not gonna stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured."

"You won't be alone." She stood, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Phillips wants to see you early tomorrow morning. Go get some rest."

Peggy left, and Steve spent a moment staring down at the glass in his hand before downing it. He got up, and walked to his tent. Everyone stayed away from him, giving him looks as he walked past. When he opened the flap as stepped inside, he paused, his eyes finding all of Tony's tiny things that were still there.

The spare pieces for his gun, his half made little projects... The work clothes that were piled on the chair. There was a small metal stick on the bed that Steve had no clue how to work, and he placed it on the table before sitting on the edge of the bed. Steve ran a hand over the sheets, once warm and inviting, now cold and displeasing.

He didn't want to lay down. He really didn't. But he was tired, so tired, and he knew that he had to sleep. Tony would have worried if he didn't sleep.

So he laid down, this time flat on his back, instead of on his side like he normally did. Steve stared up at the roof of his tent, and slowly felt himself falling into sleep, the world fading to black. Then, an explosion of color filled his vision, and he wasn't laying in bed, but sitting at the top of a hill.

Everything was so bright and green, with a field of flowers at the bottom. A young boy, no older than four, was running through the field in an set of overalls and, giggling his little heart out. Steve watched him, feeling something warm inside, even if he couldn't make out his face. He could tell he was a brunette, with messy hair that stuck out in strange places.

"He's just perfect, huh?"

Steve turned, finding Tony standing next to him. He jumped to his feet, eyes wide as the world around him was bleached of color. The boy faded into nothing, the green grass and flowers disappearing, leaving Tony. Only Tony.

"Tony," Steve breathed out, wide eyed. "Tony, you're-"

"Dead," Tony said. "Really dead. We didn't spend much time together this time, though. I mean, one of us usually dies early, but wow. We spent, what? A few years together? God. But next time, we'll both stick around longer. Well, next time for me. You have things to do before your next life."

Steve stared at him, wide eyed and confused, and tentatively reached out with the bond. He touched nothing, like he had been all day, but something came back, like an echo of emotion. And Steve suddenly knew what was going on.

"We're..."

"Yup," Tony said as he stretched. "We've met in all of our past lives. And we'll be together in all our future ones. But you have lots of things to do before we can meet again. So go and get that done before you come and join me, okay? And then I can maybe tell you about the boy you saw."

Steve nodded, and reached a hand out. Tony gave him a smirk, and reached out to touch him, only to fade into nothing, as Steve jerked awake, eyes wide and breathing hard. He looked around, startled. One of the Commandos was standing at the entrance of the tent, looking confused.

"Phillips wants you in the map room, Captain."

He gave a quick nod, the Commando running off as Steve got up to get dressed. Soon, he was in the map room, ready to do what needed to be done.

"Johann Schmidt belongs in a bug house," the Colonel says as Steve sits down. "He thinks he's a god, and willing to blow up half the world to prove it, starting with the USA."

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities," Howard said as he sat down, Maria nowhere in sight. "He gets across the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard in an hour."

"How long we got?" Jones asked, looking from Steve to Phillips.

"According to my new best friend," Phillips says with  a scowl. "24 hours."

"Where is he now?" another commando asked.

"Hydra's last base is here," Phillips says as he pulls out a photo. "In the Alps, 500 feet below the surface."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Someone else asked. "I mean, it's not like we can just knock on the front door."

"Why not?" Steve asked, voice hard and stern, drawing everyone's attention. It was the first time he had spoken to anyone since the mission, other than Peggy. He looked down at his folder, then looked up, meeting everyone's gaze. "That's exactly what we're going to do."

Later that same day, Steve rode his motorcycle straight into the Hydra base, and got himself captured. They walked him through the long and twisted halls until they reached the Red Skull, who was eager to greet him.

"Arrogance," Schmidt says with a snarl, "may not be a uniquely American trait, but I must say, you do it better than anyone. But there are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"

"He told me you were insane," Steve hissed back.

Schmidt hummed in understanding, taking a deep breath, as if disappointed.

"He resented my genius, and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything. So, what made you so special?"

"Nothin'," Steve said with a shake of his head. "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."

The Skull shouted, punching Steve hard in the face, then slapping him. A kick to the stomach sent Steve to his knees. Both were panting, and Steve lifted his head, smirking.

"I can do this all day."

"Oh, of course you can," Skull says soft, almost as if talking to a child. "Of course. But unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule."

Skull drew a gun, it whirring to life as he pointed it at Steve's head. For a moment, Steve hoped the Skull would pull the trigger. He would get to see Tony, get to know just who that little boy was. But he knew he couldn't go out just yet.

There was sharp thunks, causing Skull to turn to the window. The commandos were coming, and Steve quickly took out the two men holding him, using the first as a shield from Skulls gun, and tossing the second. Skull fled, and Steve was quick to move to pursuit.

"Rogers!" Falsworth shouted as he threw Steve's shield to him. "You might need this!"

Steve caught it effortlessly, shouting a thanks over his shoulder as he ran after the Skull. He could hear the righting outside, and inside, things exploding. He threw his shield, stopping a door. A man with flamethrowers came, and Peggy took him out.

Steve gave her a nod, running after Schmidt and his plane. He wasn't fast enough, but Phillips came with a car. They sped down the runway, Phillips keeping the car steady as Steve jumped, clinging to one of the wheels. It went up, and Steve climbed onto a catwalk. Inside were bombs, labeled with cities.

He grabbed with them men, managing to get them all thrown out and eventually, he made his way to the cockpit, where Skull was waiting.

He walked slow, managing to block a blast as Skull shot at him.

"You don't give up, do you?" The Skull snarled.

"Nope," Steve said before charging at the man, blocking blast after blast. He entered close quarters with the Skull, and they began a fist fight, throwing punches left and right.

They fought and fought, until finally, Steve knocked the Skull back. A cube came out, and Schmidt picked it up. There was lights, some kind of explosion, and Schmidt and the cube were gone. Steve hurried to the pilot seat, sitting down. He glanced at the map on the console, and out at the beautiful blue sky.

He knew what he had to do.

"Hello?" He asked as he pulled on the radio. "This is Captain Rogers. Can anybody hear me?"

"Captain Rogers," one of the Commandos says quickly. "What is your-"

"Steve," Peggy as he stares at the blue sky. "Is that you?"

"Are you al right?" Maria asked almost immediately after.

"Peggy," Steve says as he glanced over his shoulder. "Maria, Schmidt's dead!"

"What about the plane?" Peggy asked as Maria sighed.

"That's a little bit tougher to explain."

"Give us your coordinates, and we'll find you a safe landing site."

"It's not going to be a safe landing," Steve said as he looked at another panel, finding a show of how many bombs were left. "But I can try and force it down."

"I'll get Howard on the line," Maria said quickly. "He'll know what to do."

"There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York." He gazed out the windshield, taking in the white and blue expanse, lit by the sun. "I gotta put her in the water," he says, forlorn.

"Please," Maria gasped, what sounded like tears starting to well. "Don't do this. I already lost Antonio, Steve. You're like a brother, I can't lose you to!"

"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are gonna die. Maria, Peggy, this is my choice."

He pulled out his compass, setting it down so it showed Tony's picture, and pushed the controls forward. The plane began to dive, and Steve stared out at the sky, then at the ground that was beginning to rush at him.

"Maria?"

"Y-Yes Steve?" She was clearly crying, her voice breaking.

"I had a dream about Tony last night. One of the dreams."

"You did?" She asked, hopefully. "Then... You'll both meet again. You'll both be okay."

"I know. You know, Peggy, I still don't know how to dance."

"I'll show you how," Peggy says. "In the next life, we'll find you and we'll show you how."

"Great," Steve says as the ground comes closer, closer. "I'd hate to step on Tony's-"

The world exploded, becoming dark and clouded and cold. Steve could feel the water rushing him, engulfing him until every bone in his body was frozen. He went down, down, down with the plane. He felt his breath leave him, taken from him by the icy water.

And as his eyes closed, and he was once again on the green hill, watching the little boy play in the flowers. He watched and watched, waiting for Tony to appear. And his soulmate did.

"Guess you want to know about the kid, huh?"

Steve looked up, Tony standing not to far from him, looking at him, as if waiting for something. When Steve nodded, Tony sat, just out of Steve's reach.

"He's our kid in a lot of lives," Tony said as he puts his chin in his hand. "Usually adopted, but sometimes he's mine biologically. In a lot of lives, you're much younger then me, or it takes a while for us to meet. Us three, we spend a lot of lives as a family. Not entirely sure how it's gonna go this time around though. Well, for me and him. You still have time on your clock."

"Time on my... What do you mean?"

Tony just smirked, getting up. He walked to the little boy, kneeling down to whisper something Steve can't hear, and the cold sets in, harsh and teeth rattling. Steve trembled, rubbing his hands over his arms, trying to warm up, and he watches in horror as Tony looks up, face blurred and unclear, before disappearing.

The boy walked over, a voice Steve couldn't hear, yet could understand as he stared into the blank space of his face, where the eyes should be.

"Don't worry Papa," the boy said. "You'll wake up now."

And apparently, he did.

He blinked, staring up at the ceiling as a Dodgers game plays over the radio. He knew that game. He had been there. Slowly, he sits up, staring that the radio as a woman comes in.

"Good morning," she says softly. "Or should I say good afternoon?"

"Where am I?" Steve asked, trying not to growl.

"You're in a recovery room," the woman tells him, "in New York City."

Steve stared at her for a second, then turned to look at the radio. The game was playing again, and Steve knew she was lying. He had been to that game. He had gone down in the plane. He was supposed to be dead, be reborn, and reunited with Antonio. Or... What ever his name in the next life would be.

"Where am I really?"

The woman's smile seemed to turn strained. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"The game. It's from May, 1941. I know, 'cause I was there." Her smile faded, and Steve slowly stood. "So I'm gonna ask again, where am I?"

"Captain Rogers..."

"Who are you?"

The door opened, and two men with armor and beret's came in. Steve instantly went on the offensive, throwing the two men back against the door. They crashed through it, and the wall, and landed in a much larger room. Steve jumped out of the hole he had made, wide eyed.

"Captain Rogers," the woman called as she tried to follow. "Wait!"

He didn't listen, and rushed for the nearest door. He flung open the door, finding a hallway full of people. The woman spoke over an intercom, and suddenly everyone was rushing at him. Steve fled, knocking down men as he made it outside, strange cars surrounding him as he went out into the road, a taxi skidding past.

He came to a stop in the center of a large area, giant screens with colored, moving pictures all around. People were rushing around, and black cars drove up to him.

"At ease, soldier," someone shouted from behind.

Steve turned, quickly, instantly on the defensive, and stared at a black man with an eye patch. The man walked to him, face stern. When the man stopped, his face softened, becoming apologetic.

"Look," he said carefully. "I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?"

"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost 70 years."

Steve went wide eyed, turning and looking at this new world in confusion and excitement. Seventy years... That was enough time for Antonio to be reborn. He was out there. Tony was out there somewhere, but when he reached out with the bond, it bounced back, as if he had never been bonded in the first place. The new Tony was out there, and Steve would get the chance to bond with him twice.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Steve said, slowly grinning. "Yeah, I just... I have a date. Or... I will. Do you know if Peggy Carter and Maria Carbonell are still alive?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: Should this be the first in a series, or just the first arc of a single story?


	4. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of explanation of what happened to Maria.   
> Sorry if it's kinda short.

Maria Carbonell sat in the Hydra tower for an hour with Peggy Carter after the connection with Steve was lost. She couldn't quite bring herself to move, and neither could Peggy. 

Steve had been important to the both of them, though for different reasons. For Peggy, Steve had been a close friend, someone she could rely on to not treat her like she couldn't do what she did. In truth, if Steve hadn't found Antonio, then Peggy and Steve probably would have gotten together. For Maria, however, Steve was family. She didn't care that Antonio and Steve weren't married, nor that Steve wasn't related by blood, but Steve was family. He protected both her and Antonio, helped her when she needed someone to talk to. Steve would always be family. 

But Maria sat in the radio tower for an hour, just staring at the transceiver. She wasn't sure what to say, or do. Though, she should have seen it coming. 

In Italy, she had heard of soul mates who had bonded as strongly as Steve and Antonio had. These couples had bonded so closely, that many believed their minds were practically intertwined, becoming almost one. It wasn't just feelings that were pushed through the bond, but thoughts, images, everything. And even though these bonded pairs were rare, it was common that when one died, the other either went insane from the sudden missing half, or died from shock. 

In truth, she was surprised that Steve kept it together for so long. It was only a matter of time before Steve took that last step. He would want to return to Antonio quickly, after all. 

Eventually, Howard comes in, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, Peggy already gone to help with the final part of the clearing. Her eyes met Howard's, and she forced herself to not burst into tears once more. She didn’t know where to go, now. Antonio was gone. Steve was gone. Her parents had been dead for years. Where would she go now? 

Howard seemed to sense what she thinking as he led her from the radio tower. 

“Phillips can make you papers,” Howard said as they walk down the long, twisting corridors. “And we can get into America. You can stay with Carter, if you want. Or-” 

“Thank you,” Maria said softly, cutting him off. “I’d… I don’t want to be a bother, but can I maybe stay with you? I know you and Antonio didn’t quite get along, but I don’t think I can stay with Peggy. She’s just as shaken as I am, with all that’s happened in the last two or three days.” 

“Of course.” 

They walked in silence to the entrance gate, where a car was waiting to take them back to their camp. Phillips and Peggy were also in the car, silent, but they held a facade of calm. It wasn’t hard so see through it, with the way Peggy was sitting stiff, and the way Phillips was slightly slouched. 

The ride was long, almost as if it would never end. By dusk, they reach the camp, where Peggy instantly left, giving a flimsy excuse of needing to finish sorting files in the records room. Howard and Maria stayed with Phillips, Howard insistent on getting everything organized. When Phillips heard the request, however, the man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Stark,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. “What your asking my not be impossible, but the there are so many things that need to be in place before we can even start on smuggling this woman into the country.” 

“And what on earth would those things be?” Howard asked, scowling. “Surely when they find out that she’s the sister of the soulmate of Captain America, they’ll let her return to the U.S. with us.”

“It’s not that simple,” Phillips insists. “Rogers and Carbonell weren’t registered in the American soulmate registrar, and with them both dead, there’s no way to prove it to the people. Not to mention that Rogers found both Carbonell’s in a Hydra base, where one was working for them.” 

“He was forced,” Maria snapped. “He was just protecting me!” 

“People aren’t going to see it that way. If you want to go to America, it has to be as a fresh start, like everyone else. No history, no talking about your brother to anyone, not even a mention of knowing Stark before you arrive in New York for the first time. And it won't just be the Americans who come after you. Any Hydra members still out there will come after you in heartbeat if they manage to connect you to Carbonell. Hell, you’ll even have to change your last name when you get to the states.” 

Maria went wide eyed, unsure of what to say or do. If she went to America with Howard, she wouldn’t just be without her brother. She wouldn’t even be herself! Was it worth it? Could she really drop everything? Could she really change herself, erase her own family from history, just for a fresh start? 

But with a glance at Howard, she knew she would. He might not be her soulmate, but she loved him. She needed him right now, even if she had to jump through all these hoops. 

“Alright,” she said softly. “I’ll do it.” 

Phillips nods, pulling out some papers, writing on them “Well, I’m sure that I’ll be absolutely delighted when I meet you in a year of so, Collins.” 

He held out the papers, and she took them, swallowing nervously. There was no going back. She was Maria Collins, now. 

Many years pass, Maria settling quickly into New York. She had learned quickly, and found a way to ‘meet’ Howard for the ‘first time’. They quickly became a hit with the media, and Maria finds herself married to Howard. They worked well together, and she tried her best to not think about her brother. 

When she found out she was pregnant, two or three decades after the end of the war, Maria had a careful talk with Howard. She would be able to name her son after her brother, in a way. But a more… American version. Howard was alright with her naming Peggy Carter the godmother, though, so that was fine as well. 

It was when Anthony was three and building his first circuit board that Maria started to see the resemblance. She would have these moments where she would squint at her genius son, seeing Antonio in him way too much. It wasn’t just his looks, but his personality, the things that Maria nor Howard could control. 

At first, she brushed it off, convinced that she hadn’t really given birth to the reincarnation of her own brother, but as years passed, she saw it more and more. 

By the time Anthony was sixteen and off to MIT, even Howard and Peggy saw it. After Tony had left for school, they all sat in Howard's office, all things electronic turned off. They sat in silence for a moment, each knowing that they had to talk about the one thing they knew they shouldn’t. They had each done their own thoughts, leading to their own searches. Howard was still looking for Steve, and Peggy was about ready to give up. Maria would have helped, but she was so busy with Tony that she didn’t have time. 

“We should tell him,” Maria said as she stared down at her hands, which were folded neatly on her lap. “He deserves to know. About Antonio, Steve… Everything.” 

“I agree,” Peggy says as she crosses her arms. “But not yet. He won't know what to do, and if Steve has been reborn, now would be too soon to meet.” 

Howard sighed, shaking his head. “I’d rather not talk to him about it at all, but when he’s eighteen, we’ll tell him. Or, at least, give him the only existing file on Antonio Carbonell in all of the world.” 

Peggy hums softly, nodding in agreement. Tony was to young to know what to do with the information, and could trigger visions, a recent discovery. When people are reborn, the memories of their previous lives are locked away in the subconscious. They're still there, just hidden. If they learned to much about their previous life, especially at a young age, they would have visions of lives. 

The researchers believed that the visions could drive people crazy. 

Peggy looked at her two friends, studying them as they thought. It was likely that neither would be able to tell Tony, due to their relationships with him. Maria wouldn’t be able to tell her son that he was once her brother, and Howard wouldn’t be able to tell Tony about Steve without being drunk. They seemed to be having similar thoughts, as they glance at each other. 

“I’ll do it,” Peggy said as she smiled sadly. “It will be to hard for you to talk about Antonio and Steve. He’ll listen to me.” 

They both nodded, and Howard got up, moving to his desk to pull out a file. It was very old, with browning yellow paper and the SSR logo on the front. He brought it over to Peggy, holding it out to her. She took it carefully, opening to find a picture of Antonio on the top. Tony was his spitting image. Even though Antonio was 23 in the picture, and Anthony was currently 16, almost 17, they looked exactly the same. Eyes, hair, smile… 

But she could see the difference in the smile Antonio had in the picture and the one Anthony gave any of them. It broke her heart to think that Anthony was just putting on a show, but she knew he was. Howard was distant, and Maria always had a sad smile when she looked at him. 

She snapped the file closed and left, giving Howard and Maria a quick nod. She had an unbelievable responsibility now. To tell Tony about this… It wasn’t just a responsibility, it was a burden. A terrible burden… 

Peggy never did get the chance to give Tony the file. She was pulled away on a mission where she was severely injured, unable to leave her bed in London. His parents died soon after, and she was swept up in trying to find out how a brand new car could crash from a brake failure. Peggy grew older and older, and by the time she had stopped searching for what had caused the Stark’s death, she was almost eighty, and was developing dementia. 

She forgot about the file most days, it hidden away in her closet in the nursing home she was staying in in London. Tony would come visit her, trying his best to help, doing anything he could. But some days she had no idea who he was, or asked how the mission with the Commando’s had gone. Tony just assumed he looked like a Commando that had died before he was born. After all, he knew all the Howling Commando’s that were alive, and didn’t look anything like any of them. 

Tony continued on without her, meeting James Rhodes and Pepper Potts, as well as her soulmate Happy Hogan, and he made a tight, but small, network of friends. He became Iron Man, saved people, and was soon working with SHIELD. For all that he had gone through, he was well, but unknowing of just what was about to happen... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I have nothing. No question. Well, besides the usual 'ask questions if you don't understand something' thing.


	5. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is getting used to things quickly and goes on his first real mission for SHIELD, where he meets an all to familiar face...

Shield didn’t let him go right away. It took a while for them to do all of their tests. And even then, Fury wanted to keep him under observation. It's not like he wanted to leave SHIELD just yet either. He had digging to do, people to find and call, though, there weren’t many left.

Maria and Howard had apparently gotten married, and died over two decades ago. Most of the commando’s were either dead or too old to talk to. Peggy was sick, and couldn’t come out to see him. She was in England now. So old, and frail, and a widow. He doubted Maria had been reborn yet, and he really doubted that, if she had, that she would be old enough to teach him how to dance.

But he could wait. He would meet Antonio’s new self when he was meant to. But he wanted to be ready. Antonio had been very interested in science, and Steve wanted to at least know the basics so he could help him in the lab, just to keep an eye on him.

SHIELD wasn’t letting him see everything on the internet, and had initiated something called a ‘safe search’ on his browser. He was getting used to it. Just… Slowly. But he would figure it out.

He spent most of his time in the gym, though. He was bored, and he didn’t sleep well without Antonio. Steve didn’t dream of the hill top with the little boy anymore. No, Steve dreamt off Antonio and Bucky falling, only each dream had something different. In one, he and Antonio had had an argument, a fight about something small that had seemed huge, and Antonio had died angry with him. Or that Bucky had gone mad and had tried to attack them both, and toppled out of the hole while struggling with Antonio.

So he spent most of his time in the gym, destroying punching bags. Steve enjoyed the workout, but it made his ‘SHIELD issued therapist’ think he couldn’t sleep because of PTSD from the crash. He didn’t ever mention Antonio, since when he looked it seemed that Howard or Peggy had somehow hidden him from history. He didn’t know why, but it had to have been for a good reason.

Steve punched the bag he had up hard, sending it flying across the room. He stood for a moment, breathing hard, before moving to hang another bag. He wanted to go looking for Antonio so badly, so so badly, but he would wait. He waited 70 years, after all. He could wait a little more.

He set to work punching the bag again, starting slow, and working his way up.

“Trouble sleeping?” Fury asked, standing by the door.

Steve paused, turning to look at the director, then turned back to the bag. "I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill."

"Then you should be out," Fury said as he walked towards him. "Celebrating. Maybe with one of the female agents?"

Steve looked the man over, breathing heavily. He turned away from the bag and headed over to his pack, unraveling his hand wraps. Fury followed, a folder in hand.

"I'm not interested to an unattached relationship," Steve said as he stuffed the wraps into his pack. "I'd prefer to find my soulmate."

"I'm sorry Captain, but how do you know she's even alive? She could have died before you even went into the ice."

"He did die back in the 1940's. I watched him die. But then I had the dreams." Steve paused, turning to look at the director. "Are you here with a mission, sir?"

"I am."

"Trying to get me back in the world?"

"Trying to save it."

Steve turned as he opened the folder, handing it to Steve. Inside was a sheet with information on the tesseract. Everything was new. New photo's, new intel. All of it was new. SHIELD had been studying it.

"Hydra's secret weapon," Steve growled as he turned the page over, taking in the information.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you," Fury explained. "He thought what we think: the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely need."

Steve closed the folder, handing it back to Fury while studying him, looking for any sign of a lie. "Who took it from you?"

"He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know."

"At this point," Steve says as he stands, "I doubt anything would surprise me."

"Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a briefing package waiting for you back at your room."

Steve turned, picking up one of the punching bags and started to head from the gym.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?"

"You should have left it in the ocean," Steve says, leaving the director alone in the gym without a pause.

He walked through the halls of the New York SHIELD headquarters, and back to the barracks, where his room was. Steve preferred not to stay in there too long, as SHIELD had taken the liberty to make it look as close to what his tent had looked like. The door centered on one wall, the bed directly across from it. A nightstand on the left side of the bed, a desk against the wall on the right side of the door and a dresser on the left. They even put a copy of Antonio's toolbox right where it had been left, half under the bed on the right side, where Antonio kept his in-tent tools for his extremely private experiments.

It reminded Steve to much of Antonio to be in there for more than the night. He spent the majority of the day looking around the base.

When he got there, however, there was a file sitting on the bed, thick, with a stylized A on the front, and the title 'Avengers Initiative' on it. When he picked up the file, a tablet was underneath. He had broken the first one they gave him, when he broke it accidentally when he got a 'video call' and dropped it while on the treadmill. While he was running on it. This one was thinner, black backed, and had a white log on the back. StarkTab.

So it was made by Howard and Maria's son...

He shook the thought away, trying not to think to hard. He would me Anthony Stark when he was meant to. Steve felt like the first thing he should do when he met the man was apologize. After all, it was partially his fault that Maria's brother, Anthony's uncle and the man he was probably named after, was dead. If he had been just a bit faster-

No, he couldn't think about that now. Steve had to stay focused, finish the mission so the world would still be around for him to meet Anthony Stark and apologize, and so he could meet Antonio again.

Steve took a deep breath, and flipped open the file. The first page was instructions, about where he would be going, but it a sticky note on the inside of the cover told him that all of the information in the file was also on the tablet.

So Steve memorized the instructions, set down the file, and left with the tablet in hand. He tapped carefully at it, sliding through documents, reports, as he made his way to the hanger. A jet, a 'Quinjet', was waiting for him. There were two pilots and an agent were on board, waiting for him. They took off as soon as he was settled, looking through files on a Doctor Bruce Banner, a gamma radiation researcher who had been changed into something called the Hulk.

The Quinjet was soon flying over the ocean, and a pilot called back to the agent, telling him they were only 40 minutes out. The agent took off his headset, and moved to stand not far from where Steve was sitting, holding onto part of the overhead to keep from falling over.

"So," Steve said as he opened a video on the tablet. "This Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?"

"A lot of people were," the agent said calmly. "You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might be the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

There was an enraged shout from the giant green man in the video, and Steve watched it carefully. "Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Not so much," the agent admitted. "When he's not that thing, though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking." Steve glanced up, confused, and the agent quickly changed his statement. "He's like a... smart person.

"I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you officially. I've sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Steve looked up at the agent, tried to hold back a laugh, because Antonio would have said something horrible to that. "I mean, I was present while you were unconscious from the ice."

Steve got up from his seat, trying to push back the thoughts that were swirling in his head. Gabe had said something once, while they were drinking, and Antonio had laughed, said something about it being horribly dirty, and Bucky had shoved him. They had all laughed about it, and drank some more. Well, the team and Antonio did. Steve didn't try to drink until after the train.

"You know," the agent said as he followed, moving to stand with him by the entrance to the cockpit. "It's really just a- just a huge honour to have you on board this..."

"Well," Steve said as he looked through the glass, taking in the way the water moved as they raced over it. "I hope I'm the man for the job."

"Oh, you are. Absolutely. We, uh, made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."

"The uniform?" Steve said, turning to frown at the agent. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old-fashioned?"

"Everything that's happening," the agent said seriously. "And the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned."

Steve stared at the agent, wondering for a moment, whether he should believe him or not. But he decided he would, and he would trust this agent. He would be a great allie. So he held out his hand, and waited as the agent started.

"You said you thought it was an honor to meet me," Steve said, nodding to his hand. "So meet me. I'm Steve Rogers."

The agent swallowed, looking giddy and excited as he took Steve's hand. "Phil Coulson."

Steve smiled, nodding as he shook the agents, shook Phil's hand. "Nice to meet you Phil."

They arrived at the base soon after. Phil had told him a bit about where they were going. It was called the Triskelion, a high-tech, flying fortress that could be in the sky or sea for months before they needed to refuel. It was impressive, but the more Steve thought about it, the less shocking it was.

Howard had been working on a flying car when Steve had been at the last Expo, and Antonio had thrown in his two cents on the topic when he met Howard. They didn't get along well, probably because Howard was always flirting with Maria, the two did agree that technology would advance.

When the Triskelion came into view, Steve studied it in interest before they landed. Phil led the way off the Quinjet, and told someone to stow his gear, men running around on the deck. A redheaded woman with short hair was waiting for them. She was wearing what looked to be a leather jacket over a red shirt, and Phil greeted her as she approached.

"Agent Romanov," Phil said, then nodded to Steve, sounding proud. "Captain Rogers."

Steve gave her a quick nod. "Ma'am."

"Hi," she said, face stern before she turned to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face trace."

"See you there," Phil said before he hurried off, leaving Steve with Romanov.

He stayed focused on Romanov, though. She reminded him of Peggy, with her attitude and mannerisms. But she wasn't Peggy, and Steve knew she would be a valuable ally, and an even more valuable friend if he made it that far.

"It was quite the buzz around here," Romanov said as she led the way across the deck. "Finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading card, yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve asked.

"They're vintage," she told him as they came to a halt. "He's very proud."

There was a man shifting nervously from foot to foot, looking around. He was a man Steve recognized from the files, and Steve was eager to talk.

"Dr. Banner," he called, walking towards the man.

Banner turned, and walked over, taking Steve's hand. "Oh, yeah, hi." He shook Steve's hand, looking on edge, and eager to leave. "They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is, you can find the cube."

"Is that the only word on me?" Banner asked, looking around as if someone might try to jump out and scare him.

"Doctor," Steve said seriously, as Banner seemed to flinch a little. "On my first mission in enemy lines, I found an Italian woman in tattered clothes who begged me to find her brother who was a Hydra scientist. He was working in a ward where when someone went in, they never came out, and the only word I had that he wasn't mad like the other Hydra creeps, was the word of that Italian woman. I'll make my own judgement on you, but right now, I only care about finding that cube."

Banner seemed surprised, but he nodded, relaxing a little. They started to walk along the deck, men running in formation as their leading officer shouted a cadence. They walked, Banner slowly finding the nerve to start a conversation.

"It must be strange for you," Banner says as he gestures, another platoon running past. "All of this."

"Well," Steve says as he watches the platoon pass, "this is actually kind of familiar."

"Gentlemen," Romanov said as she came up behind them, making them stop and turn. "You may want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breath."

There was a whirring sound, and Steve knew from what Phil had told him that it was the propellers getting into position. Banner looked startled again, and extremely worried.

"Really?" Banner asked as he took a few steps ahead. "They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?"

They walked to where a propeller was coming out, spinning fast as it lifted the Triskelion out of the water. Men were working to strap down planes and jets, and Banner grew a nervous smile.

"Oh no," He said. "This is much worse."

They were soon in the air, and Romanov led them inside. They moved to the control room, passing labs and training rooms. Men and women were hurrying around, shouting what was going on. A woman stood at the front, and shouted back to Fury. He gave an order, saying something about vanishing, and turned to them as Steve pulled a five to hand it to Fury, who took it with a raised brow.

"It's impressive," Steve says as he walks past the director to look around. "But Howard was working on making a flying car when I met him."

He walked to the console, then down a ramp as Fury went to greet Banner. He came down as Coulson started to speak.

"We're accessing every wireless camera on the planet," he said as Steve stopped next to him. "Cell phones, laptops... If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not gonna find them in time," Romanov says, kneeling next to a computer.

"You have to narrow your field," Banner agrees, turning to Fury. "How Many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?"

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."

Steve watched as they worked, talking with Phil for a moment before they got a hit on his location. Loki was in Germany. The director gave him the order, and he went to suit up. He hurried to the Quinjet. They left soon after, Steve jumping down from the jet when they reach the place, landing just in time to save an old man from being killed.

The blast ricocheted, hitting Loki. Steve slowly stood, walking forward as Loki snarled.

"You know," Steve said. "The last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

"The Soldier," Loki snarled, laughing a little. "The man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve tells him, smirking a little as Natasha arrives in the Quinjet, readying the weapons.

"Loki," she calls over the inner comm. "Drop the weapon and stand down."

The Asgardians fired the scepter, Natasha managing to dodge with the jet. Steve immediately jumped into action, throwing his shield into Loki's chest, catching it as it rebound. He hurried forward, landing a hard punch to the Asgardians face as people screamed and scrambled away.

Loki recovered quickly, slashing first downward with the spear then upward, pushing Steve back before aiming to stab at Steve's chest. He was thrown back, pulling out with a roll, and landing on his hand and knees. He threw his shield again, Loki knocking it to the side as Steve rushed forward, trying to throw a few good punches as Loki swung the scepter.

He was thrown once again, and Loki put the scepter to his head.

"Kneel," the Asgardian ordered.

"Not today," was Steve's only answer before he roundhouse kicked Loki.

They struggled to take control of each other, get the upper hand. When Loki threw Steve down, however, loud music came blaring through the Quinjets speakers, and Steve looked to the sky. A streak shot across the dark sky, a metal suit blasting at Loki before it landed hard on the ground. Loki was sent flying, landing hard against the steps with a groan of pain.

The suit stood, aiming all kinds of weapons at Loki as the music stopped.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games," the pilot, Anthony Stark, said threw the suit, voice somewhat distorted.

Steve scooped up his shield, putting it on as he hurried to stand by the Iron Man. He hadn't gotten to that part of the files he had been given, and had yet to know what the suit, or it's pilot looked like. People said Anthony looked like Howard, but for some reason, Steve doubted that.

Loki looked between them, his armor fading as he slowly raised his hands. The weapons of the suit deactivated, and Stark moved to lower his arms.

"Good move," he said, sounding pleased.

"Mr. Stark," Steve said as he took deep breaths, Natasha landing the jet behind them.

Stark didn't look at him, giving just a small nod. "Captain."

They loaded Loki onto the jet, tying him up. Steve pulled off his cowl and gloves, running a hand through his hair to try and fix it for a moment as he watched the Asgardian tense. Stark came in behind him, arms reaching up to pull off the helmet.

"Sorry I haven't come to meet you," Steve says as he watched the man turn away from him to pull off the helmet. "I would have come found you, arrange a meeting, but SHIELD-"

"Why would you want to come meet me?" Stark asked, causing Steve to freeze.

That voice... It was- But it couldn't be! Stark turned, eyebrow raised as Steve gaped at him. Everything about Anthony Stark was Antonio Carbonell. They were the same, the only difference being the addition of the stylized hair and clean trimmed goatee.

Steve gaped, an arm unconsciously reaching out to touch the man's face, but just before his fingertips could brush the skin of Stark's cheek, Stark pulled away, frowning. Steve quickly pulled his hand back, clearing his throat as he flushed.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I just- You look so much like Maria and your uncle."

Stark rose a brow. "Okay, never heard anyone say I look like my mother, but I don't have an uncle."

Instantly, Steve's heart began to break, eyes wide and he could almost feel a sob about to rip through him. Maria never told Anthony? Peggy nor Howard told Anthony Stark about the uncle he looked so much like?

"But..." Steve squeezed his eyes closed, taking a deep breath. "But you did. I rescued him, and Maria, from Hydra when I saved the 107th. His name was Antonio Carbonell, Italian, and he was an Engineer and part of the Howling Commando's. He's saved my life more times then I can count and he died with James Barnes when they fell from a train during a mission."

Anthony went wide eyed, blinking. He seemed shocked, or maybe confused, but Steve clenched his teeth, pulling on his gloves faster than he meant to. He turned to where Loki was seated, and crossed his arms.

"I don't like it," Steve said quickly, trying to redirect the conversation.

Anthony seemed to understand what he was doing, and seemed eager to let this new line of conversation continue.

"What?" He asked. "Rock of Ages giving up too easily?"

"I don't remember it being this easy," Steve says as he turns again, now with his back to Loki, standing next to Anthony. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still," Stark says as he turns to Steve. "You are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, pilates?"

"What?..."

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things doing time as a Capsicle."

Steve watched him for a moment, frowning. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

"I know," Steve agrees. "From what I hear, you're a good hacker. Think you can tell me what they were planning on doing with the Cube?"

Stark stared at him, looking about ready to ask something, only to be cut off as the Quinjet shook, thunder sounding around them. Steve turned, looking around in surprise. That had come out of nowhere...

He caught sight of Loki, looking up. His mouth was open a little, eyes wide. The Asgardian almost looked like he was going to have a panic attack.

"What's the matter?" Steve asked, causing Stark to look over. "Are you scared of a little lightning?"

Loki turned to them, eyes looking almost tired. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Almost instantly, there was a thud above them, and everyone looked up, Loki pressing back in his seat. Stark put on his helmet, moving to open the hatch door.

"What are you doing?" Steve called, the wind nearly eating his words.

Stark didn't reply, instead raising a hand as a man dropped onto the hatch. He went to fire, only for the man to hit him, hard, with a hammer. Anthony went flying back, knocking Steve over. They fell to the floor as the man grabbed Loki rather aggressively, and flew from the jet.

"And now there's that guy," Stark said as he got up.

"Another Asgardian?" Romanov called.

Steve pulled himself up, knowing that he would be bruised from the weight of the Iron Man suit. "That guy's a friendly?"

"Doesn't matter," Anthony says as he turned to look at Steve. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

"Stark," Steve called. "We need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan," he says, walking to the edge of the hatch. "Attack.”

And with that, Stark was blasting out of the hatch, chasing after the two Asgardians. Steve had to give him credit, though. Antonio had said something similar, once, when they were about to storm a Hydra factory. 

But Steve couldn't let him go alone. He quickly grabbed a parachute, trying to hook it on.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha says as she flips a few switches. "These guys come from legend. They're basically gods."

"Don't really care," Steve said as he picked up his shield. "Anthony might need help."

Natasha turned to look at him, brow furrowed. "You know he prefers Tony, right?"

And Steve couldn't help the knowing smile that practically split his face before he ran after Stark, jumping from the jet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was... something. Anyone have any idea why Tony ran off so fast? Or acted so... weird?


	6. Evasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony does his best to not get to close to Steve. Not that he was evading the man! Why on earth would he do that?

Tony was having a shitty day, that was capping off a shity week, to cap of the shitty month of a shitty year.

An ex had called to talk about something he really didn't think he would ever hear, and Rhodey had found his soulmate, and Pepper and Happy were engaged. He kinda wanted to find his own soulmate. He was kind of... lonely.

But Rogers words, about an uncle he knew didn't exist echoed in his mind. Antonio Carbonell... It made sense that if his mother did have a brother, she'd want to name him after her brother. They must have been close. But at the same time, if they were so close, why not tell him? And his mother's maiden name was Collins, not Carbonell.

Then again, she could have changed it when she arrived in America. Though, why hide the dead uncle?

"J," Tony says as he dived from the jet. "Find anything that relates my mother to World War II or an Antonio Carbonell. Also, look up anything in a Maria Carbonell."

"Of course, Sir."

Tony sighed, but shook off the thought. JARVIS would search all that he could, find everything. He just hoped that they had at least some electronically stored data from Word War II. Or maybe scans of mission reports. But for now, he locked his sights on the blond that took Loki, barreling towards the two as the blond was glaring.

He then slammed into the Asgardians side, pulling him away from Loki. The man was big, and very heavy, but with the armor it was quite easy. Tony flew the man off the cliff, throwing him down in a small cleared area in the woods. The Asgardian skidded across the ground, sending dirt flying, as Tony landed much more nicely.

Tony stood, watching as the Asgardian got to his feet, glaring.

"Do no touch me again," he said lowly.

Tony flipped up his faceplate, watching him carefully. "Then don't take my stuff."

"You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Uh," Tony said as he looked around. "Shakespeare in the Park?"

He got only a confused glare in return. Well, that wouldn't do! He usually got a better reaction from his actions. He had to up his game. So, he took a theatrical stance, gesturing the the Asgardian with one hand.

"Doth Mother know you wear-eth her drapes?" he asked, in a drawling joking tone.

"This is beyond you, metal man," the Asgardian insisted. "Loki will face Asgardian justice."

"He gives up the Cube, he's all yours," Tony counters, his faceplate snapping then. "Until then, stay out of the way."

Tony turned, about to take off as the Asgardian turned away. He muttered under his breath, just a simple 'tourist', and the Asgardian whirled around, throwing the hammer his way with a shout.

It slammed into Tony's chest, just below the arc reactor, and sent him into a tree that became nothing more than splinters. He fell to the ground, the hub flickering for a second, as if glitching. That was the last straw. No one made his tech glitch. His tech didn't glitch!

As the Asgardian started to spin the hammer, Tony got up to his knees, turning sharply to send a repulsor to the blond's chest. He slammed into a tree, and Tony took off towards him. With a sharp kick, the Asgardian- god, he needed something else to call him!- smashed through the tree, the hammer falling off to the side.

Goldilocks- which would be the Asgardians new name- raised his hand, the hammer flying into his open palm. In a split second, Goldie had it raised to the sky, lightning striking it. Goldie then pointed the hammer at him, the lightning going straight to the arc reactor as Tony held up a hand to try and block it.

Only, he didn't have to.

When the lightning stopped, JARVIS spoke up. "Power at 400% capacity."

Tony looked at the energy readings, smirking a little. "How about that?"

And with that, he expelled some of the power with a triple repulsor shot. Goldie went flying once again, but easily stopped himself on a tree. They both tensed, flying up and slamming into one another mid air. Tony flew the man into the side of the cliff Loki was on, dragging him up as Goldie tried to knock him off.

They veered off back to the woods, smashing through trees and then to the ground. They both got to their feet, sending punches to each other until they were in a grapple of strength. Goldie started to squeeze, the armor starting to crumble, and Tony had to turn his hand to fire a repulsor at Goldie's face.

More punches followed, fighting until they could get the upperhand. Just as Tony was about to send a double repulsor shot, a familiar round shield came out of nowhere, hitting first Goldies chest, then Tony's shoulder.

"Hey!"

Both paused, turning to look over at Captain America, who stood on a fallen tree as he caught his shield.

"That's enough," he said, almost in a tone Tony would guess a disappointed older brother would use. He jumped down, landing effortlessly not far from them. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here-"

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes," Goldie growled.

"Then prove it. Put that hammer down."

A sudden shudder of fear and concern washed over Tony, and he had the feeling Goldie wouldn't like that. "Yeah, no. Bad call. He loves his-"

Goldie slammed the hammer into the armors chest, and just before he went flying, Tony caught a glimpse of the Captains horrified face. He then went tumbling, skipping across the ground like a skipping stone on water, and skid across the ground. Just as he was getting back up, the hub flickering again, he was sent back down as Goldie smashed the hammer down on the Captain's shield.

He told JARVIS to save those readings, hoping he could analyze them to make use of it if Goldie ever joined their side. Tony carefully got up again, pushing a shattered tree branch off as he groaned. The Captain was next to him, breathing hard as he stood.

"Are we done here?" The Captain asked.

Goldie looked around with wide eyes, horrified recognition in his eyes. He didn't fight anymore, and they took Loki to the helicarrier. Tony immediately told JARVIS to start searching, once they were within range. While the others went to the bridge, he went to get out of the armor, needing a minute to store it and double check that JARVIS was getting in.

He used his phone to watch and listen to the bridge feed as they were watching the security footage of Fury interrogating Loki. It opened just as they were talking about real power. The windows on the table- hey, he made that table!- closed, and Doctor Bruce Banner looked around, almost nervously.

"He really grows on you," Bruce jokes.

Tony liked him. Bruce was a- what did the teens call it now? Bruce was a precious cinnamon roll. He would make a buddy of Bruce, make him a science bro, and maybe invite him to live in the tower. Maybe he would invite all them, if things worked out. Besides, Pepper needed another girl friend.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Rogers said as he turned to Goldie. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor? So that was Goldies name. He hadn't really payed attention to that file. He was more interested in his opponent and the tesseract.

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor told them as he stroked his scruffy beard- who does that? "They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army," Rogers said with a serious face- why so serious?- as he turned to look at Romanov. "From outer space."

Well, someone didn't read their briefing packet.

"So," Banner said as he fiddled with his glasses. "He's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Selvig? Tony thought to himself. He knew that guy. Or, he had heard of him. Wasn't Selvig working with one of the people Tony was funding? A... J. Foster? Apparently he wasn't the only one who recognized the name of.

"Selvig?" Thor asked, concerned.

"He's an astrophysicist," Bruce told him.

"He's a friend."

"Loki has jim under some kind of spell," Romanov explained. "Along with one of ours."

"I want to know why Loki let us take him," Steve said with a frown. "He's not leading an army from here."

Tony was starting to get the feeling he should be part of that conversation, but he was studying right now. Studying the others and how they acted. He liked Bruce. He would be a good science bro. Thor would probably be hard to keep around, but he could try and get him set up to test the strength of stuff. Romanov was Romanov. No change there. But Rogers was different. He didn't know why, but he believed that he could trust Rogers.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce said as he shook his head. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak," Thor said, taking a step to the table. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."

"He killed 80 people in two days," Romanov said darkly.

There was a pause before Thor spoke again, almost making his statement sound like a question. "He's adopted."

"I think it's about the mechanics," Bruce says. "Iridium... What do they need the iridium for?"

He arrived just at that moment, putting his phone back into the pocket of the suit he was wearing, walking with Coulson.

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony said, drawing everyone's attention, then turning to whisper to Coulson. "I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive." Coulson rolled his eyes, walking away as Tony turned back to the group, Rogers watching him intently.

"It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony explained walking towards Thor. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."

He gave Thor a quick pat on the shoulder, getting a strange look in return as he moved on. Tony made his way to Fury's control center, walking past Hill.

"Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." He felt the need to play a little, and looked at the agents below. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. That man is playing Galaga," he said, pointing as the agents looked up at him. "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Tony covered one eye, frowning at on of the many displays. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns," Hill says, blank faced as always.

"Sounds exhausting." He turns, tapping at one of the screens, subtling setting up a bug for J to get in faster. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"

"Last night." Hill gave him a look. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Rogers asked, sounding serious, but there was a strange look in his eyes that told Tony he was amused.

"He would have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin," Bruce said as he paces. "Just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless," Tony said as he moved around the table to stand next to Banner, "Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect."

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English."

"Is that what just happened?" Rogers asked softly in confusion.

Tony ignored him, instead taking hold of Bruce's hand. He was slightly disappointed that he didn't feel the rush of a soulmate bond when bare skin touched bare skin. It would have been great to have a science bro for a soulmate! They could science together for the rest of their lives. But maybe it would be better to just stay bros.

"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner," Tony said with a smile. "Your work on anti electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

Bruce looked away, face scrunching a little in hurt confusion for a second, then slackened. "Thanks."

"Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube," Fury said as he walked in. "I was hoping you might join him."

"I'd start with that stick of his," Rogers say, looking from Fury to Tony. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor asked. "I do not understand..."

"I do," Rogers said as he pointed at Thor, looking to Tony for some reason. Tony could only roll his eyes. "I... I understood that reference."

Tony turned to Bruce, ignoring the way Rogers was watching him, as if looking for approval. "Shall we play, Doctor?"

"This way, sir," Bruce says, seeming more at ease than before. He must have understood that Tony was just being Tony, and they left for a lab.

Banner set up the scepter on a little stand to do some scans, which was adorable, in Tony's mind. Bruce was just a little cinnamon roll.

"The Gamma reading are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports of the Tesseract," Bruce said softly as Tony was looking at other stuff. "But it's going to take weeks to process."

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around 600 teraflops," Tony comments as he tabs at one of his own screens.

Bruce chuckled, and Tony turned to walk back to him. "All I packed was a toothbrush."

Tony could only force a grin, because that was just sad. Just a toothbrush? A mind as bright as Bruce should have amazing tech to go with! All the more reason to invite Bruce to stay at the Tower! Speaking of...

"You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime," Tony says with a grin. "Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it. It's Candy Land. And if you like, I could probably set an extra floor up just for you."

"Is this your way of asking me to move in?"

"Possibly. We're totally science bros. He can science together all day."

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke Harlem."

"Well," Tony said as he picked up a special poker. "I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises.

He poked it into Bruce's side, shocking the man, who jumped. Bruce turned to him as Tony squinted, looking for any sign of green. There was none, but Bruce looked confused, then amazed.

"Hey!" someone called from the door, though Tony didn't pay attention.

"Nothing?" He asked, curious.

"Are you nuts?" someone- Oh look! Rogers!- asked as they walked in.

"Jury's out," Tony shrugged, getting a careful laugh from Bruce. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Rogers asked, scowling.

Tony had the strangest feeling that Rogers had asked him something similar before, though he wasn't sure why. "Funny things are," he said instead, putting on his most innocent face.

"Your safety-" Rogers started, causing Tony to raise a brow before he seemed to correct himself. "And the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offence, Doc."

"No," Bruce stuttered, looking somewhat surprised. "It's all right, I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

Pointy? It wasn't just pointy. It was zappy.

"You're tip-toeing, big man," Tony says as he walked around the table. "You need to strut."

"And you need to focus, Anthony," Rogers said seriously.

"First of all, don't call me Anthony. It's Tony. Second of all, I am. Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables. I'm also looking into what they were planning for the Cube." Tony paused, turning on his heel to point at Rogers. "Didn't you ask me to do that on the jet?"

"I did," Rogers said, face softening a little. "I would just like you to not be reckless. The Doc has his... other side under control, and I doubt he needs you trying to make him lose that control. In fact, if you're going to act this way, I think you should be in your own lab, away from any dan-"

"What?" Tony asked, getting a bit angry himself. "You think that I should stay away from danger? That I should stay in a lab somewhere instead of out on the field?"

Instantly, a look of shock crossed Rogers face, almost like he was experiencing deja vu. Tony wasn't sure why, but he made the guess that Rogers must have had a similar conversation with Peggy, or maybe his father.

But it was kind of... He wanted to say adorable, but he shouldn't, so he would use funny. It was kind of funny how Rogers tried to fix his mistake.

"That's not what I meant," he insisted. "I just- You aren't a soldier, Anthony-"

"It's Tony."

"-and it would be best for you to do what you do best, not antagonizing other scientists-"

"Have you not seen the SHIELD files on how often my assistants quit?"

"-like the Doc. I think..." Rogers took a deep breath, sighing. "I think Loki's trying to wind us up somehow. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."

"Following's not really my style," Tony countered, eating a handful of blueberries.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?"

"Of the people in this room, which one is A) wearing a spangly outfit, and B) not of use?"

"Steve," Bruce said drawing both of their attention. "The... other guy actually seems to like Tony a lot. I doubt he'd come out unless I was in a life threatening situation."

Tony grinned a little, because the Hulk liked him? That was awesome! He could science bros with Bruce, and battle bros with Hulk! It''s gonna be great!

But what wasn't great was the look of hurt that seemed to appear on Roger's face at that. Why would he be hurt by the Hulk being okay with Tony? Was it wrong for him to make friends with both of Bruce's sides? Tony sure as hell didn't have a problem.

"Just find the Cube," Rogers said before leaving.

Tony watched him go until the door closed, fiddling with a few things as Bruce moved to another screen. There was a moment of silence before Tony stope up again.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about?" He asked, more of a rhetorical, just getting it out sort of thing rather than an actually question. "Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice."

"The guy's not wrong about Loki," Bruce says after a small chuckle. "He does have the jump on us."

"What he's got is an Acme dynamite kit," Tony said as he walked to look over Bruce's shoulder. "It's gonna blow up in his face. And I'm going to be there when it does."

"Yeah," he agreed with a smile. "I'll read all about it."

"Or you'll be suiting up with the rest of us."

Bruce laughed, shaking his head. "Nah. You see, I don't get a suit of armour. I'm exposed. Like a nerve. It's a nightmare."

A confession. A show of trust. Tony would give up his own, because even with Rhodey and Pepper and Happy, Tony really needed more friends.

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." He paused, making a small gesture to the arc reactor. "This stops it. This little circle of light, it's part of me now, not just the armour. It's a terrible privilege."

"But you can control it," Bruce counted when Tony was standing in front of him.

"Because I learned how."

"It's different."

"Hey," Tony said as he forced the tabs on the clear screen to minimize, letting them see each other clearly. "I read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you."

"So you're saying that the Hulk... The other guy saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for what?"

"I guess we'll find out."

Tony turned, Banner watching him as he went to the other side of the lab. He was sure he could help Bruce, with a little time. He could do it.

"You may not like that," Bruce said carefully after a moment.

"And you just might."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the previous arc, this one only has three chapters, then an intermission. But Tony does find out about the bond in this arc, so the next chapter... What do you think his reaction will be after they bond?


	7. Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets his feelings whipped around in first the argument on the helicarrier, then in the Battle of New York. And a certain someone gets a sudden kiss...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll put this in the end notes as well, but this is chapter three of the Avengers arc (second arc), and the wrap up for this arc will be the intermission that will come on the 19th of November. As the Enemies arc (the third and final arc) is going to be the longest, with each chapter being longer, and with a total of four chapters and an epilogue, there will be no update on the 3rd of December, and will resume on the following week, with the first chapter of the final arc being posted on the 12th of December instead.

When Steve left, he was somewhat heartbroken.

That look on Tony's face when he found out the Hulk might like him reminded him to much of Antonio. He had gotten that look, so long ago, when he got back from missions Antonio hadn't gone on, or when he dropped by the lab without warning. God, he missed that look...

And he would get that look of approval from Tony. He had to. And then he would ask to start over, shake Tony's hand, and know if Anthony really was Antonio reborn. He had to know.

But for now, he had to know what SHIELD was going to do with the Cube.

Steve snuck his way below deck, following agents until he was on the C Deck. He found a door labeled 'Secure Storage', and took a glance around before he pried it open. The locks snapped under his strength, and he jumped up onto a catwalk to take a look around. He walked around until he came to a room full of crate.

He glanced around, trying to find something to pry one open with, and took a crowbar from nearby. Steve used it to pry a crate open, and instantly felt a surge of emotion. Anger and rage at the top of the list.

Grabbing on of the guns, Steve hauled it back to the lab, his face set in stone. Agents dodged past him, wide eyed, as he stormed up, dropping the weapon on one of the tables as Tony asked what Phase Two was.

"Phase Two is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons." Steve hissed, then turned to Tony, trying to keep his anger under control, but seeing Tony, who looked so much like Antonio, only made him angrier. "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me."

"Rogers," Fury said, sounding almost... scared. "We gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're making-"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Tony said as he turned a screen to show them something Steve didn't understand. "What were you lying?"

"I was wrong, Director," Steve hissed, fists clenched and teeth grit. "The world hasn't changed a bit."

"Did you know about this?" Banner asked Romanov as she walked in with Thor.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" she asked instead.

"I was in Calcutta," Banner responded, his voice dripping with morbid humor. "I was pretty well removed."

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

No one spoke for a second, before Fury spoke, pointing at Thor. "Because of him."

"Me?" Thor asked.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly- hilariously outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor said, insulted and confused.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury snapped back. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched. They can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve asked, eyes narrowing. "Like you tried to control me?"

"We didn't try to control you," Fury said as the others looked at them in surprise. "We were just-"

"Trying to introduce me slowly?" Steve snapped. "What about 'maybe with one of the female agents'? Or am I wrong to guess that you wanted me to date a dame you had under your thumb who would have a better chance of getting me to do what you wanted?"

"Rogers, that's not-"

"And what about the Carbonell's? Why not give me any of the files relating to Maria? And what happened to the files about her brother? About my soulmate?"

"Soulmate?" Tony muttered in confusion.

God, Steve wanted to tell him so much. Tell him about how Antonio was such a brave man, who was just trying to do his part. But he needed to stay focused; though, it seemed Thor was staying focused for him.

"I'm sorry to hear that they have hidden something as important as a souls bonded from you," Thor said to Steve, then turned to Fury. "But your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve asked, refocusing. He needed to stay in control, and he needed to know what kind of war could be 'higher' than the nuclear form. Fury didn't seem to agree.

"You forced our hand," the director insisted. "We had to come up with something."

"A nuclear deterrent," Tony said, causing everyone to turn to him. "Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark."

Steve suddenly felt the urge to stand between Fury and Tony, because Hello! He did not like the tone Fury had with him. He steeled himself, moving instead to talk calmly.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, he'd be neck-deep-"

"Hold on," Tony said moving to jump fully into the conversation. "How is this now about me?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this," Thor interrupts.

"Excuse me," Fury said loudly. "Did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?"

From there, the room devolved into angry chatter, everyone trying to get a word in. Thor vs. Fury, Banner vs. Romanov, and, much to Steve's surprise, himself vs. Tony.

He didn't recognize all of what he said. Something about a list, and something else about bees. Then something about a wisecrack and threats. Something about respect... He didn't understand half of what he said.

Steve was angry, upset, and heartbroken. He needed to relax. But he was blowing off steam. And he wasn't doing it in the gym, physically, with a punching bag. He was doing it here, verbally, with Tony. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony said as Fury said something to Banner. Steve hadn't really been paying attention.

Tony placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, and he knocked it away, glaring. "You know damn well why. Back off!"

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me," Tony said, scowling.

"Yeah," Steve said with a huff. "Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?"

What was he saying? Why was he saying this to Tony? Anthony was so much like Antonio. Saying this was like saying Antonio couldn't hold his own. This was what had caused his first big fight with Antonio after the ‘you should stay at camp with Howard’ argument.

Big man with a pair of guns. Take those away, and what are you?

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Tony counted, tilting his head in a way Steve had only thought Antonio could.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you," Steve hissed, and instantly felt like he should take it back. God, did he want to take it back. But he didn't stop. "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire, and let the other guy crawl over you."

Neither was Antonio, Steve screamed in his mind. Antonio would look for a way to survive so he could still protect others. To survive so that when there was truly no other choice, he could make that play, so no one else had to.

"I think I would just cut the wire," Tony said back, voice sounding heavy with emotion.

And Antonio was that way. Antonio would have cut the wire, but Steve just wouldn't shut up!

"Always a way out," Steve said with a huff. "You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

Steve sucked in a breath, his heart pulling as he tried to apologize, ask if Tony really meant that. But the words didn't form. Something else did.

"Put on the suit," he hissed. "Let's go a few rounds."

Off the to the right, Thor chuckled, drawing both of their attention.

"You people are so petty," the asgardian said. "And tiny."

Steve frowned, trying and trying to figure out why he had said such things. He was... starting to get a headache. And it looked like Tony already had one. Why did he have a headache? He force himself to think, reevaluate, and breath. Something was wrong. He couldn't focus any more.

Fury was arguing with Banner. He managed to clear his head just as Banner was talking about suicide.

"Doctor Banner," he said, carefully. "Put down the sceptre."

Banner looked down, seeing it in his hand. An alarm chimed, and the room seemed to slowly ease. Then, the tension was back, only a little different, as people scattered to get ready to go after it.

"I can get there fastest," Tony said as he moved to the door.

Only, Steve grabbed his arm, stopping him. "You're not going alone."

"You're gonna stop me?" Tony asked as he knocked Steve's arm away.

"I'm not going to stop you," Steve snapped. "You just can't go alone!"

"Who are you? My mother?!"

Just then, something exploded, sending them all to the floor. Instantly, Steve felt his head clear, and he scrambled to his feet, Tony trying to follow.

"Put on the suit," Steve said, fearful of what might happen if Tony didn't.

"Yeah," Tony wheezed as Steve helped him up.

They scrambled into the hallway, Steve heading one way to get his shield, and Tony in the other to get his suit. Fury gave commands over the comms, and Steve rushed to make it to engine three. He pried open a door, calling out to Tony. Men went past, limping, as smoke billowed up around them.

"Anthony!" He called, holding onto a pipe to look around the shredded part. "Anthony, I'm here!"

"Good," Tony said as he flew up in the suit. "But don't call me Anthony. Now let's see what we got." He pushed on something, then pointed to Steve. "I need you to get to that relay control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position."

With a quick nod, Steve jumped up to a platform, moving to open the panel. It was a series of lights and switches. None of which he understood. When Tony asked how it looked, Steve had no clue what to say.

"It seems to run on some form of electricity."

"Well, you're not wrong."

Tony gave him a series of instructions, and Steve did his best. When he was done, he put the relays back, asking about their next move. Just pull the lever. Pull the lever and Tony won't get shredded. He could totally do that.

It seemed whoever was attacking them didn't understand that he was busy.

Two men came out from below, one throwing a grenade at him. Steve jumped down, throwing a punch at one of the men, then threw the other off the helicarrier. A third came up, and Steve took the gun from the man he had knocked out, shooting the third man into a corner. After a bit of a firefight, Steve slipped of the crumbling walk. He held tight to a cord, wide eyed, as Tony called for him to pull the lever.

Steve climbed his way up, crawling on the walk for a second before he pulled the lever. After a second, Tony can in the suit, tackling the third man down.

They gathered themselves, and Steve was ready to celebrate their survival. Celebrate Tony's survival. But the bad new came first.

Coulson was down. Medical called it.

They went the bridge, the only two there as they listened to Fury. Coulson had had the cards on him, when he died, and he hadn't signed them. Fury told them how much else they had lost. Thor, Banner, Tesseract location.

Fury then told them about the Avengers Initiative. How Coulson had still believed in it. Tony fled after that. Steve couldn't help but follow. Tony needed to talk to someone, anyone, and Steve hoped he could do it.

So there he stood, standing in the now empty room where the cage had been, leaning against one wall, out of the suit.

"Was he married?" Steve asked.

"No," Tony said instantly. "There was a... cellist, I think."

"I'm sorry," Steve said. "He seemed like a good man."

For a second, Tony huffed, turning as he swing his arms, shaking his head. "He was an idiot."

"Why?" Steve asked, staying calm, wanting to just talk this through. "For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone," Tony said as he started to walk towards him. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..."

"Sometimes there isn't a way out," he explained, going to meet Tony half way, just in front of where Coulson had died.

"Right. I've heard that before."

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

Tony whirled on him, practically growling as he spoke. "We are not soldiers. I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I," Steve says as he shook his head. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. And you might not have been a soldier, but Coulson was. He and all the other SHIELD agents, including Romanov. But right now, we got to put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source. If we put together a list-"

"He made it personal," Tony said suddenly.

"That's not the point," Steve said, knowing what happens when someone thinks like that. He had thought like that once, and ended up encased in ice the next day.

"That is the point," Tony insisted. "That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart."

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

Tony started to walk back up the walk, thinking.

"Right," Steve agreed, trying to see what Tony was getting at. "I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"That was just previews," Tony explained. "This was opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered-"

In a split second, Tony froze, and Steve caught up. With a curse, Tony fled to his suit while Steve went to gather Romanov after suiting up. They commandeered a jet, taking off as soon as possible.

They followed Tony, Steve gritting his teeth as the jets on Tony's suit flickered. While Tony was talking to Loki, they tried to get communications up, get police to evacuate the city, but they were too late. The portal opened and the Chitauri came out

Cars began to explode, people fleeing as they screamed. The jet crashed, and Steve rushed into battle.

He fought for a while, working well with Natasha and Clint as they took out the aliens. Bruce showed up after a while, taking out one of the giant worms that came out. They evacuated civilians, got as many Chitauri as they could, and got the police to help. The fight was pretty easy after that, and everyone went on to do their own jobs.

But all good things come to an end.

Natasha managed to find a way to close the portal, only for Tony to call for her to stop. They had a nuke inbound. One that Tony was going to fly into the portal.

"Tony," Steve said, voice heavy with dread. "You know that's a one-way trip."

He got no reply, watching as Tony flew overhead, the nuke on his shoulders. It disappeared into the portal, Steve begging TOny to come out. The Chitauri fell around it. He couldn't make the call, and Natasha made it for him.

Somehow, Steve knew. He knew that Tony was his Tony. They weren't the same, but they were, and Steve felt like he was about ready to break, like everyone had expected him to during the war. He hadn't broke because he had the dream, that one dream, that he knew had to be real. It had to be. But watching Tony die again?

It was too much...

Then, a miracle happened. Tone came through.

"Oh thank god," Steve breathed, his chest tight.

Tony was alive. He could still try. He could still try to fix what they could have. Hell, he could finally make something for them to have.

"He's not slowing down," Thor said, breaking Steve from his trance.

The Asgardian was ready to take off, only for Hulk to jump and catch him. Steve guessed that Bruce had been right. Hulk did like Tony. And Steve was glad for it, and ran to them as they landed. His heart was racing, eyes wide as he tried to get control.

"Is he breathing?" Steve asked, watching as Thor pulled off the face plate.

The arc reactor was dim, Tony unmoving. Steve placed two gloved fingers to Tony's neck, trying to find a pulse, but couldn't. Were the gloves to thick? He pulled his hand back, pulling the glove off, about to place the two fingers to Tony's neck, only for Hulk to roar.

Steve flinched, wide eyed, as the reactor flickered to life. Tony must still be alive. He had to be! And Tony jerked awake, sucking in a breath, coughing for a second. He looked around, tired, and then laughed a little.

"Please tell me nobody kissed-"

Before Tony could finish, Steve shoved his bare hand into the collar of the suit. The tingle of the bond forming sparked up his arm as he pulled Tony up, pressing a rough kiss to Tony's open mouth. For a second, they were in their own world, Steve feeling the emptiness from his had-been shattered bond filled as Tony's mind joined with his. He pushed everything he felt through the bond, pulling back as he lost his breath.

They both stared at each other as Tony took heavy, labored breaths. He looked startled, and confusion spilled over from Tony's side of the bond. Steve just smiled, sending the best of what he could of a message across to Tony.

Later.

Tony seemed to understand as Steve smiled, and he relaxed a little.

"Who's hungry?" Tony asked. "Who wants shawarma?"

Everyone seemed to relax after that, and Steve knew that they would be alright. They would make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a fun cliff hanger! How will Tony react? What will Steve do? Will Tony ever get the file Peggy Carter was supposed to give him years ago? Will it change anything? Also, very sorry with the choppy part of the Battle of New York. I'm not the best at writing fight scenes.  
> If you have other questions that haven't been answered yet, please put it in the comments bellow!  
> An intermission to be posted 19th of November, and arc 3 part 1 to be posted 12th of December!


	8. Intermission 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few of Steve's and Tony's lives together. I wanted to add more besides Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Revolutionary War, but the Intermissions are supposed to be just short little things that either explain or entertain. This one... was getting way to long. I might add the extra lives at the end, if enough people ask, though.

Back before the world, the universe, was truly created, the Maker had their own version of a petri dish.

This ‘petri dish’ was made entirely of the souls that would one day inhabit the realms, the solar systems, and the worlds within the universe. They were just tiny sparks at first, made from the Maker’s passing, subconscious thoughts. But they would grow into every life that would ever exist.

The Maker would, of course, die when the universe was ready, and would be unable to see what would become of his creations.

The souls did not care about this. They were making connections, conversing in the silent language they had when they could. Some souls were dark, only a shadowy blur that the dim but normal souls avoided. Others were much brighter, able to light their little pen just by themselves.

They grew, taking shapes, with features that seemed to blur and change every now and then. As they made friends, learned more about themselves, the souls learned they could become bound with one another. Rumor spread, that a single touch would mean that a pair of souls would meet at least once more if they only gave eachother a small, small touch.

Souls had instantly started to do so, each having made their own friends and loves. Some only touched one other soul, while others touched many.

Two souls, out of trillions of trillions of trillions of souls, who had met not long after eachother’s creation, had taken each other's hands and not let go. They held tight to each other, hoping, begging the Maker, that they would never have to part. These two souls held tight, even when they moved to talk to other souls.

They were not perfect, even though some thought they were. One of them was quick to think, where variations of dark brown locks and brown eyes were a constant blur on their brightly glowing face. The other was kind and gentle, with blurred shades of blonde hair and blue eyes on their equally bright glowing face.

More often than not, they were with a rotation of the same five souls. One, in particular, always looked so young to them, and they only ever saw that soul when they were alone. The two often went to this young looking soul, who was just as bright (if not brighter) as them, with eyes that always looked so big and brown, and an array of brown or sandy hair.

Once, as time drew closer to the finishing of their home, and the end of the Maker, this young looking soul was sitting with them, and confessed. This young looking soul confessed that he was afraid. Afraid of being sent out into the universe alone.

The two souls that always held each other's hands had shared a look, then smiled, reaching out with their free hands to pull the little soul into them, and into a hug. They held tight for a moment, then another, and finally three more, their holds tight as the little soul gave a small cry of what they believed to be joy. When they released the smaller soul, they told the soul that they would always find each other, one way or another. They would help the younger looking soul in any way they could.

They left their little home not long after that, each soul slowly disappearing until everyone was starting their first life.

XxXXxX

In ancient Egypt, the great architect Tonintuk was almost finished with the great pyramid.

He had spent nearly his entire life working, working on creating amazing pieces of architecture. While others looked in vain for a soulmate that likely didn’t exist, Tonintuk was busy drafting designs. Now, with his greatest work almost complete, he wasn’t sure what he should do.

Tonintuk was wealthy, as he was a favorite of pharaohs, and had a concubine or two that he had spent much of his time with. He didn’t use them as much as before, and rarely had them come to him at night to warm his bed. Perhaps he would find himself a wife? Or a husband. He wasn’t very picky.

But as the last stones were put into place, Tonintuk spotted him. A large slave, more muscular than the others. He was pale skinned, so pale it was turning red in the hot sun. The slave had golden locks, so bright and gold that they shined in the sun. He had a young boy with him, also a slave and also pale skinned, who was so small that Tonintuk wasn’t sure if they boy had been born while they were building or not. How he had never seen either before was baffling.

For an unknown reason, Tonintuk was drawn to the pale skinned man. He placed aside his draft, moving to walk down the sandy hills to where the man was lifting to boy, a bright grin on his face. Tonintuk noticed the man's eyes at that point. Bright and blue, like the sky, or even the Nile, on a cloudless day.

Slaves took notice of his presence instantly, many quickly ducking their heads or scrambling away. They feared him, feared what he would do if they made the slightest of mistakes. But Tonintuk did not care for those slaves. They did not matter at this moment, as he approached the only slave that did not seem to notice his presence.

The boy saw him first. Big brown eyes widened, sandy brown hair seeming to stand on end. The boy couldn’t be any older than four, he was so small! Or, perhaps five, as the slaves were usually much smaller than other people. When the boy saw him, the man was soon to follow, those beautiful blue eyes widening in recognition.

The golden haired man quickly put the boy behind him, guarding him from what the slave must have thought an enemy. But Tonintuk was not there to harm the boy, nor was he there to harm the man. He simply wanted to know why.

Why the slave was there? Why did he have the boy? Why had he never seen him before?

Guards and slave masters instantly took notice of the slaves defensive position: shoulders tense, large muscles flexing under pale but reddening skin. But Tonintuk did not feel threatened, and held his hand up for the men to hold. They froze, they to fearful of what he could have done to them. With a single word to the pharaoh, a close friend of his, he could have the guards and slave masters joining the slaves they had tormented for so long in the building of another pyramid.

The pale slave must have sensed what was about to happen, as his muscles relaxed, eyes going wide in surprise as Tonintuk reached out to touch him. His fingertips brushed against the man's cheek, a shock running up his arm in what many would consider a warning. Tonintuk, however, sucked in a breath, cupping the man’s cheek as the slave's hand came up, clasping the side of his neck. They both felt the rush of the bond that was formed, swirling around in their souls, as others around them gasped.

Tonintuk let out a shuddering breath as the bond finished forming, settling into his stomach. He didn’t know what to say, not really, and he unwittingly sent worry over the bond. Was he hurt? The redness of his pale skin was worrying. Was he angry with him for the work he made the slaves do?

A shiver ran down his spine when he got an answer, not in words but over the bond. His soulmate was fine. Unharmed and not angry. He could never be angry that he was doing his job. Tonintuk let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“What is your name?” he asked, running his thumb along the pink cheek his hand cupped. “I would like to know your name…”

“Sven,” came the quick reply, a smile on the slave’s- on Sven’s face. “My name is Sven.”

“I am Tonintuk. How did you get here, Sven?”

“The north. I was captured in the north, and was sold here.”

“Far?” came a small voice from behind Sven, and both eyes were drawn to the little boy. “Far, hva skjer?”

Sven grinned, scooping the boy up in his arms. “Alt vil bli ok, min sønn!” he said as he pressed his nose to the boy’s cheek. “Denne mannen er min sjelevenn. Han vil hjelpe oss.”

“Does he not speak our language?” Tonintuk asked before he could stop himself. He did not understand whatever language they were speaking, but it did not matter. If this boy was Sven’s son, then he would learn for the boy.

“No,” Sven said as he turned to Tonintuk. “He has not had time to learn.” A worried look appeared on Sven’s face, and dread slipped along the bond. “He is my son, Petter. I… I do not expect you to simply free us from our slavery, and I hate to ask you to do this so soon, but could you at least take Petter? He is small and fragile, and he will not survive if he remains in this state. Please, save him, if you can not save us both.”

Tonintuk smiled slightly, turning on his heel. “Come,” he said quickly. “I am quite familiar with the pharaoh, and he will arrange for your freedom in exchange for a favor.”

And with that, Tonintuk was leading the two to the pharaoh’s palace. He was able to get them their freedom, as Sven was his soulmate, only if the two remained with Tonintuk when they leave their home. Sven had no objection to this, and Petter got a pardon when he came of age, and found his own soulmate, a mercenary from another country.

Sven lived with Tonintuk for many years, until the blazing sun eventually became too much for him. His pale skin was eventually darkening into blisters, and he got sick more often. He became weak from the heat, and Tonintuk arranged from them to leave Egypt to return Sven to his home land.

The once strong and fair man died the night they were meant to leave, his skin cold as if he were frozen by the night cold.

Tonintuk took his own life from the heart ache a few days later, after they had sent Sven’s body down the Nile, letting the river take the man to the Underworld, or Niflheim, or wherever one went after death.

XxXXxX

Stephenos was a soldier and hero from Sparta. He had many blessings from the gods, such as Nike, Aphrodite, Hera, and Hermes. Athena was his patron, guiding him into battle with battle wisdom and wise strategies.

He was, at the moment, hunting the Hydra. It was a deadly beast that had been terrorizing cities all over Greece. Supposedly, it was in the area.

And in the area it was, as he turned his horse around a ridge, to find not only the Hydra, but a man standing up to it as well. The man was a bit shorter than Stephenos, in what looked to be blacksmith’s clothes, though he couldn’t really tell as the man was covered in soot. There was a small dagger in the sooty man's hand, pointed at the Hydra.

“Get back!” The man growled, the Hydra hissing at him. The dagger was suddenly ablaze, the fire seeming to erupt from where the man gripped the hilt. “I am a servant of Hephaestus! Do not test me, vile creature!”

“My,” the Hydra’s voice boomed. “But are you not also a servant of Aphrodite? Doesn’t your oath to her call for you to be beautiful and loving at all times?”

“I am not a servant to the Goddess of Love! She merely bestowed her blessings on me! I serve the God of Fire and Forge, and you will rot in Tartarus!”

With that, the man rushed forward, stabbing the blade into the Hydra’s leg. It roared, the fiery dagger practically exploding once the man had thrown himself away from the beast. The monster turned and fled, leaving a stream of shining red blood in it’s wake.

Stephenos slid off his horse, moving to walk to where the sooty man stood, running a hand through his mess of dark hair. As he drew closer, the man turned, looking at him in confusion.

“When did you…” The man shook his head. “Never mind that. I need to return to my forge. You seem fit enough to assist me… What is your name, soldier? Well, you look like a soldier. I normally avoid soldiers. They tend to mess with my things and harass my apprentice.”

He wasn’t quite sure what else to do but to run back and get his horse to follow the soot covered man. The man talked quite a bit, saying things Stephenos didn’t understand as the sooty man led the way.

They eventually came to a house connected to a large, masterful forge. Smoke rose from the top, like the nostrils of the angry drakon Stephenos had once slain, years ago. Through the open door, Steve could see a young boy, not even thirteen, running around, picking up and putting down different tools. The boy seemed oddly familiar somehow.

The sooty man walked in with quick steps, seeming at ease. “Petros!” The man called. “Petros, go fetch a pail for me! I’m covered in soot!”

“Of course, Master Antonios!” The boy called, turning and running out a back door with a pail in his hands.

Stephenos froze in his steps. Antonios? A blacksmith with a forge far from society with not a single soul nearby but a young apprentice? Was this man the blacksmith, Antonios Starkin? Who was a hero in his own right with so many blessings from Lord Hephaestus himself that he was practically another god of the forge?

For a moment, he stared, watching the mysterious man as he moved about, dipping swords into chilling water or pulling them from the heat. The boy, Petros, came back quickly, a pail of water heavy in his hands.

“Here you are!” The boy said cheerily, grinning.

“Yes, yes,” Antonios said as he moved to where some kind of grate was on the ground. A cloth sat on the floor beside it, and Antonios took the pail, stepping up on stool to pour the water into some kind of trough that was just above head level. “Help me clean up Petros! We have a guest! What did you say your name was?”

It took a moment for Stephenos to realize that Antonios was talking to him, as the man was currently pulling off his clothes. Meanwhile, Petros had gotten a cup and a bowl as well as a second pail of water.

“I have not,” he said, quickly turning away so as not to see the man naked. It was rude to stare, after all… “I am, well… I am Stephenos, servant of Athena, and- I must apologize, I should not be here as you bathe…”

“While I…” Antonios sounded confused, as if he had never heard such a thing. “Oh! Petros, go take the man to the kitchen. I’m sure there is still bread left from this morning.”

Without a word, Petros hurried over, taking Stephenos hand and pulling him away into the house. There was still bread of the table, three entire loaves, actually, but before he could say anything, Petros was off back in the forge.

He waited by himself for a while, contemplating on whether or not to just leave. That would be incredibly rude, though. Antonios had shown him kindness, letting him into his home. He was certain that the man meant for him to eat some of the bread… Perhaps he should? It is rude to deny a host when offered food…

Before he could grab a piece of bread, however, Antonios and Petros came out of the forge. Both were now clean of any soot or grime, dressed not in blacksmiths clothing, but in very nice tunics. The materials looked soft, almost silk like, with a deep red for the actual tunic and then different colored sashes for both of them. Antonios had a gold sash that seemed to shimmer in the light, while Petros had a black sash. Besides the sashes, the only difference between the two was the fact that Antonios wore a golden laurel wreath that shoved him as a direct servant of a god. Stephenos had one as well, gifted to him by Athena herself after his first battle as a soldier.

But what really caught his attention was Antonios face. He was simply gorgeous! Sure, Stephenos had heard the blacksmith was handsome, but he had just guessed they had meant for a servant of Hephaestus, or for a blacksmith! Never would he had guessed that he was so… so attractive.

“What did you say your name was?”

He jumped, startled from his thoughts. “Oh! I am Stephenos, servant of Athena, and holder of blessings from Nike, Aphrodite, Hera, and Hermes.” Stephenos bowed, then stood up straight.

“I am Antonios,” he said absentmindedly. “Servant of Hephaestus, what not. This is my nephew and apprentice, Petros. Also, what not. I have little interest in titles. Currently, I have more interest in getting rid of that Hydra. It keeps clawing at the mine I get my ores from.”

Stephenos smiled, thinking for a moment. “Well, perhaps we can help each other? I am hunting it as well.”

Antonios frowned, but eventually nodded. They worked together after that, hunting the Hydra as it roamed the area for a few months before it was finally slain. When it was over, they gave each other respectful bows and went their separate ways. Stephenos returned to Sparta, while Antonios returned to his forge.

But they never seemed to part for long.

Stephenos would return to the isolated forge for weapons repairs, which Antonios gladly did. Sometimes, Antonios would come down from his solitude to visit the village, and stumble upon Stephenos at the market. They simply seemed to gravitate to each other.

This went on for years, the two meeting often on what seemed to be accidents, before going off to work together again. Years passed, and monsters were slain. Petros left the forge with his found soulmate, and Antoios once again lived alone. More years passed and Stephenos was called off to war.

The day he left to join the new soldiers for training, Antonios was there to wave him off. But as he turned to leave, there was shouting from his guards. He turned back just in time to see Antonios before there was a pressure of his lips and jolt running through his body.

When the blacksmith pulled away, he stared at him in surprise. A misty eyed look entered the brunettes eyes, and all he said was a simply “I'll be waiting,” before he was gone, disappearing in a sea of people.

Stephenos spent many years fighting that war, able to send his love and promise to Antonios back home. He would never again live alone in that house in the mountains. Never again would he have to work alone in that dreary forge, because he could teach Stephenos to do Petros old jobs.

But the promises never came to be, as Stephenos turned to return to camp after a battle, an arrow flew and pierced his heart. He was dead within minutes, and Antonios was left to weep as he stared down at his empty, massie table.

He grew detached from emotion cold and hard, as he drank and had sex. The son he had with a widow out of wedlock would later create the noble Stark family.

Antonios died of old age, to afraid to take his own life.

XxXXxX

In 1779, loyalist gunsmith Anthony Rork was sitting silently on his porch, glaring at the space where the British soldiers had left a wagon full of colonial prisoners. Right on top of his mothers garden.

“Captain,” he said as he approached the leader, a fellow nobleman that he had known as a child. “I must ask you to move the wagon.”

The captain looked down at him from where he was perched on his horse. “And why would we do that?”

Anthony glared, but refused to get angry. “The wheels are crushing my mother's garden.”

“Fine,” the captain sighed, turning his horse to steer it towards town. “You may move the wagon.” And with that, the captain was gone.

Anthony glared in frustration, wondering when his old friend had become such a bigot. He turned, moving to the barn to go get one of his horses. A few other soldiers milled about, sitting or standing as they cleaned their guns. Anthony would likely be asked to clean the captains.

When he opened the barn down, however, he was surprised to find another colonial there. This man was tied up, legs bound and mouth gagged. He looked up at Anthony with blue eyes, glaring. There was a large bruise on his face, and by the ruffling of his golden hair, it wasn’t from hitting his head on something.

For a moment, Anthony just stared, the colonial staring back.

Then, without even realizing he had moved, Anthony was kneeling before the man, a shudder rippling through him as he lightly touched the dark bruise on the man's pale cheek. He took deep breaths, eyes wide as the bond settled between them. And with shaky hands, he pulled the cloth from the man's mouth.

“You’re a loyalist,” the man said before Anthony could think.

“And you're a rebel,” Anthony stated as he started to untie him. “What’s your name?”

“Stephen,” the blond said, moving to massage his wrists. “And you?”

“Anthony.”

Stephen gave a small smile, and they talked quietly for a moment. It seems that Stephen was the Captain of the rebel force that was in the wagon outside. With an agreement, they worked together to switch the roles of the capture.

The British soldiers were soon tied in the barn, and the colonists waiting for the British captain to come back. When all of them were successfully tied in Anthony’s barn, Stephen promised to return when the war was over.

And he did. Once the war was over, and the colonies were the new country, Stephen returned to Anthony’s home, and they settled together. It was tense at first, getting used to the change. But, they did get used to it, and became quite close, and closer than any recorded pair in history.

They died together, of old age.

XxXXxX

Antonio Carbonell was an Italian engineer.

He was wealthy, using his large inheritance after his parents death to fund both his small life with his sister Maria and his research. When the war broke, they went from there already modest sized home to a smaller, more hidden home. After all, word was that while the Nazi’s were taking jew’s, the science devision Hydra was taking engineer and scientists.

But, after a few months of hiding, they had been found. Hydra beat him, threatened him, but Antonio didn’t break until they threatened Maria. And so, he was set to work.

He was to build a machine that could alter someone's mind, their biology. His first subject was to be a man from the captured American unit. The man stared at him the entire time as he prepped the machine, unable to leave the table as he was chained to the leg.

“I’m sorry,” Antonio told the man, taking the small step back that he could.

Zola turned on the machine, and Antonio closed his eyes as the man on the table screamed. It went on for what felt like hours, hours of just screaming, until it all stopped, and Zola left. Once alone, Antonio wet to trying to get free. The man on the table remained unmoving, until much later, when he groaned as Zola returned to gather his papers.

"Wait!" Antonio called as he strained to get the chain free, the doctor fleeing from the room. "Zola, you bastard!"

He pulled on the chain, begging God, the Maker, anyone who would listen to release him. His sister was still downstairs! Maria would die if he didn’t get out and save her! Antonio turned to the door, though, as the sound of steps entered his ears.

A tall, handsome, blond American man had entered the room, eyes locked on the man on the table.

“Bucky?” the man gasped, moving to the table. “Oh my god..."

In an instant, the man had ripped the thick leather straps, and had freed the man. And the entire time Antonio watched him, wide eyed and shocked, and somehow, he knew this man would change his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this story will be on Hiatus until December tenth.


	9. Drinks, Bonds, Kids, and Other Things.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony works through some things...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue weather this is the longest chapter or not, but it felt like it was... There are over 6,000 words in just this chapter.   
> My plan was to have both Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Winter Soldier be split into two chapters each, so that there were four chapters and then an epilogue. However, I'm not sure I should cram half a movie into one chapter... Anyone have any thoughts or advice?

After shawarma, Tony calmly left Steve under the gies he had to go talk with Pepper about the tower. It wasn’t a total lie, but Steve still offered to give Tony space. He knew how hard it could be, the suddenness, and he just wanted Tony to be happy. Which freaked Tony out even more. 

He was currently pacing by the bar, pausing to knock back a few drinks every now and then as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening while waiting for Pepper and Rhodey. 

So Steve was his soulmate. Okay, he can deal with that. But he’s also the reincarnation of his uncle, who he knew nothing about and was also Steve’s soulmate before he died. Alright, sure. Not crazy at all. Totally sane, nothing weird or creepy about that. Or about the way that Steve pretty much had unlimited access to his brain! Well, mostly. Boded soulmates could only send emotions, and sometimes thoughts, which were just emotion’s with context. 

But he didn’t know what to think. Tony had spent so much of his life alone, without any hope that he would meet his soulmate. The chances of meeting them dropped drastically after turning 30. The late teens and twenties were when people were living life, exploring and moving around. Meeting people. And out of the entire world, Tony had probably met the most, from all over the world. Surely he would have met his soulmate, but he hadn’t and by the time he was forty, he simply shrugged it off. 

Then again, he hadn’t known his soulmate had been trapped in ice. 

Just as he threw back another cup, the elevator dinged, signalling the arrival of Pepper. And apparently Rhodey, who stepped out with Pepper beside him. They both looked disapprovingly at his glass, though he instantly ignored it. Because he couldn’t think about how he was a fuck up. Because he has another person in his head. 

“Pep!” Tony chirps cheerily. “Rhodey! Great of you to join the party!” 

“The unwarranted pity party?” Rhodey asked under his breath. 

Pepper, ever wise Pepper, gave him a look. “There is no party. What’s wrong?” 

Tony frowned, looking from his friends to his glass. “My soulmate is Captain America.” 

The two looked at each other, gaining exhausted looks and moved to the bar. Rhodey instantly poured out his shots, downing three in quick succession, as Pepper mixed a quick cocktail of vodka and cranberry juice. They then sat, drank a bit, and looked at Tony for explanation. 

Tony didn’t blame them for needing to be drunk during this talk.  _ He  _ needed to be drunk for this talk. 

“So,” Tony says as he pours another glass. “He was always kinda weird with me? Like, he seemed like he was waiting for something. Then I flew the nuke-” 

“We are going to have a serious talk about that later,” both said as sternly as they could manage. 

“-into the portal, and I blacked out. But then Big Green did a roary thing and I woke up. Captain Tight Pants was kneeling over me and I tried to make a wisecrack but he just kissed me? And I got super confused and felt that freaky bond forming thing in my head. Now he’s, like, in my head and he keeps sending me these little messages and I don't know what to do!” 

“First of all,” Rhodey says after taking another shot. “Do you need me to rough him up?” 

“No,” Pepper says with a frown. “First of all, what do you mean by messages?” 

Tony frowned a bit more, swirling his drink in his cup as he thought. He couldn’t really describe the messages. Not on the mental and emotional level that they were sent. They were raw, pure emotional thought. Even now, with Tony in the messy penthouse and Steve off at- Where was Steve, exactly? 

A shiver ran down his spine as his unwitting question got an instantaneous answer. Blue, the sky, shield (object and organization), flight, targets. Steve had heard his internal question, asking where he was, and had responded in milliseconds. The super soldier was on the Triskelion, in the gym. What he was doing here, Tony didn’t know, but he didn’t want to think to hard on it. 

Then, a small message came in, the words echoing in his mind as if Steve was right there in the room.  _ Everything all right?  _ Worry flowed through the bond as well, but a small sub message came as well. A message that conveyed an assured confidence, but promised a quick arrival of assistance if needed. 

He sent a quick message back before he could really think about sending one.  _ I’m fine. Perfectly fine.  _ Tony instantly groaned, bringing a hand up to fist his hair in frustration. Steve’s emotions flooded him, as if they had broken through of their own accord. Hope, happiness, all the good things like sunshine and kittens. Including love… 

His rush of fear and worry must have also gone through, as he got a sharp dose of apologetic emotions. Steve was apologizing for intruding on his alone time, and he soon faded; though, not completely, as his presence was a new eternal constant in the back of Tony’s mind. 

Tony needed another drink… 

“Tony?”

He jumped at the sound of Pepper’s voice, looking up in surprise. She had a look of concern that he hadn’t seen since she saw him in the suit for the first time. Or… When he almost died fighting Vanko. 

“I’m fine,” Tony said after he downed his glass. “Just trying to get over the fact that  _ Captain America  _ is  _ in my head. _ ” 

“In your head?” she asked, and Tony half wondered if there was a way to get her to stop looking so concerned. Then again, Rhodey looked concerned to. “What do you mean ‘in your head’?” 

“Talking to me, sending me his feelings,” he drawled, getting up to go find something to tinker with. Tinkering was good! Would distract him, get his mind off stuff. “It’s like he’s right here sometimes. I guess it feels the same way for him, since it goes both ways, right? And I have evidence to prove it! If I think to hard about something, it instantly goes through. He’s apparently in the gym on the Triskelion.” 

“The what?” Rhodey mouthed to Pepper. 

“Big flying helicarrier,” Pepper told him, frowning. “SHIELD’s main base? I thought you, as a Stark and SHIELD liaison for the Air Force, would know that.” 

“Guess everybody’s learning something new today,” Tony mumbled into his now empty glass. Noticing that it was empty, he hummed, stumbling out of his seat as he moved back to the bar. “I learned three new things today. Hey, Rhodey, did you drink all my scotch?” 

He tipped the empty bottle upside down, frowning at it. That was a brand new bottle… There had been, like, sixteen glasses in that thing or something! He hadn’t drank that much, had he? With a shrug, he put the bottle down on the counter, moving instead to stir up a martini. Did you stir martini’s? Tony couldn’t quite remember… 

Pepper was on him in a flash, guiding him back to his seat with a glass of clear liquid in his hand. Was that vodka? He took a sip, frowning in disappointment. Nope. Water… 

“So,” Rhodey said once he was seated with his cup of disappointments. “What else did you learn today? Besides Captain America being your soul mate.” 

“Please tell me you learned that you actually hate drinking and will never drink again,” Pepper said with a fake hopeful smile. 

“Nope,” Tony said with a grin. “I think I might be my own uncle! Also, I’m gonna have a son. Well, sorta…” 

“What?!” Both Rhodey and Pepper shouted, though Tony could understand why. 

“Well, not really ‘gonna’. More like, already have? He’s apparently four, and a genius. Just like me. His mom- Remember Mary Fitzpatrick? That CIA agent that I worked with a bit back before Iron Man? Yeah, well, we hooked up right before I got kidnapped and now, boom! Baby!

“Wait, what if the kid doesn’t like me? What if Steve doesn’t like the kid? But he’s Captain America, so he’s gotta like kids, right? I bet Cap’s great with kids. Think he’d be willing to help me out with him, being so old timey and shit. Take responsibility and stuff. Reminds me of this thing Mary used to say. With great power comes great responsibility! Funny, cuz the suit is so great and powerful, but I’m shit at responsibility. No way can I raise a kid.” 

He went to knock back more alcohol, only to be disappointed when he got water. Right. Pepper didn’t give him vodka. He should really fix that. But she was looking so exasb-exasperb… exasperated! She looked so exasperated, with her head in her hands, and her face scrunched up as she tried to take what must have been calm breaths. It wasn’t working very well, and Rhodey was getting up to pull out something stronger. 

“Tony,” Pep, beautiful Pep, with her gritting teeth. “You don’t- I can’t- I don’t think I can do this right now.” 

And with that, she turned and walked to the elevator, not bothering to take Rhodey with her. She should know by now how bad they could get! Wasn’t that one time they got hammered and drunk dialed Coulson enough? Oh well! They had some time to kill now. 

Tony woke up in Malibu, everything hurting, and half naked on his kitchen counter covered in butter and… powdered sugar? He really hoped that wasn’t drugs covering half of his body… 

Sadly, it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. College was weird...

Rhodey was in a very similar state, on the table, only covered in chopped nuts and honey. Tony did love calling him Honey Bear and Nutter Butter. He’d never really thought of actually making him an actual nut honey bear though. 

Pushing himself up, Tony felt his head throb and a thought appear in his mind that he hadn’t had in a long time. What did I do last night? He groaned, walking toward the bathroom to go shower. Rhodey jerked awake as he passed, snorting as he sat up right, using the back of his hand to rub his nose. Honey was smeared… everywhere. 

“Gonna… Gonna go home,” Rhodey said finally, still looking half asleep and at least a little drunk. “Just gonna… take your helicopter out of here.” 

He left through the front door, and sure enough, the StarkCopter was on his front lawn, the pilot already in and waiting. Rhodey mumbled something to him, and they were off. Tony, on the other hand, went to go shower. He had sugar in his pants, and it was starting to itch… 

An hour later, Tony was down in his lab, looking at footage of what he had done the night before. Apparently, Drunk Tony liked to build suits and inject strange things into his body. Their body? 

Tony was to hungover to think this through. 

Jarvis had Dum-E shipped to him overnight, and the bot was currently making one of his possibly inedible smoothes. But Jarvis said it was clear for him to drink, even though it tasted like shit and smelled even worse. He wasn’t exactly sure as to why he came out to Malibu, but he could live in Malibu until the tower was fixed.

However, something he didn’t want to deal with was the bond. Only… he didn’t. Steve was radio silent. In fact, if Tony thought hard enough (gaining a migraine in the process), he was fairly certain that he hadn’t felt Steve since he woke up. Should he… Should he be worried? 

No, a voice said in the back of Tony’s mind. Steve is still there, just not calling or answering. 

Maybe Steve was really giving him the space he wanted? The mere thought was making Tony sick to his stomach. Tony had no clue why, and that made him feel even worse. 

“Jarvis,” Tony said as he stood up, rather suddenly, as he almost knocked the drink Dum-E had made off the workbench. “Get the suit ready. I’m going flying.” 

There was a pause before Jarvis spoke. “Perhaps this would be a good time to test your new suit, Sir. Though you made a rush of the schematics last night, I ran diagnostics and probabilities. The armor seems to be perfectly sound and I sent it into fabrication. It’s ready for testing.” 

Tony nodded, waiting for Jarvis to explain more. He usually didn’t have to run any real tests, unless there was an extreme modification. Such as the Mark FIve, or the Pod Armor that he used in the Battle of New York. What did he do to this one? He just wanted to get in the armor and go out for a fly. 

But as he thought that, the muscles in his arms twitching with anticipation, a gold colored chest plate came rushing towards him. Tony barely had enough time to jump to the side before it, and several other pieces flew by. They swirled in a circle around him, before coming towards him again. This time, he moved on instinct, letting the pieces attach themselves together around him. 

“Now this,” Tony said, once the faceplate had clicked into place. “This is what I call a suit!” 

Without much of a glance at Dum-E or anything, really, Tony took off, flying up high as he tested his new suit. For the most part, everything looked to be in order, only a little shudder from the suit when a piece started to detach. He fixed it mid air, spotting a Stark Industries office down below. 

“Jay, call Happy.” 

“Calling sir.” 

After a moment of ringing, Happy’s forehead and eyes appeared in the bottom corner of the hud. Tony couldn’t help but grin, trying to hold back a laugh as he did a barrel roll. 

“Is this forehead of Security?” he asked, smirking. 

Happy frowned, at least, Tony though he did, as all he saw was the forehead scrunch. “What? No? I'm sorry, is there something you need?” 

“Just wanted to check in on you and Pep. Did she tell you about my, uh, thing?” 

“You mean the soul thing? Not really. But I'm busy right now. Some handsome guy showed up, and is showing Pepper his big brain.”

Tony snorted. “What guy?” he asked, turning to fly back to the Malibu house. “Not that it matters. You and Pep are too close to break up. I mean, your soulmate bond thing has been strong for years. Since, what? Nineteen-ninety?” 

“Ninety-nine,” the man said proudly. “Can you do me a favor Boss? Maybe look this guy up?” 

“What's this guy's name?” 

“Aldrich Killian.” 

The call ended soon after that, Tony hovering above the floor of the workshop. He cut the boots, landing with a thump on the concrete. A jolt shot up through the armor, and it fell to the ground in pieces. 

“Well,” Tony said as he stepped away from the heap. “It's a good thing that didn't happen while I was in the air!”

Jarvis made no comment, and Tony went about his process of fixing up the suit. He went on for a while, busy with the suit and listening to the news (he'd have to talk to Rhodey about this Mandarin guy), until Jarvis gave him a reminder. A call reminder. He had one hour to get ready for this call. The call that would decide many things…

Tony put away his tools, letting Jarvis put the suit away as he went to shower again. He needed to relax, get his thoughts straight. What would he tell her? What would he ask her? God his life was such a mess right now… 

Slowly, he gained the sense of reassurance. Tony felt the soft feelings ease over him, And it suddenly hit him that his anxiety must have forced its way through the bond to Steve. Steve was blindly reassuring him that everything would be alright, even if he didn't know what the problem was. 

And it was actually making Tony feel better. 

So he went back to his lab, not picking up anything, but just to feel comfortable during this possibly life changing call. So many life changing things in the last few days… 

Jarvis announced the call, and put it through when Tony nodded. 

“Mr. Stark?” the soft voice of an older woman said, carefully. “This is May Parker… We spoke on the phone last week?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, growing a little tense again. He sat at the desk he almost never used, Dum-E bringing him a rubix cube. “We did. I sent in the sample you mailed me. He… really is mine.” 

“Yes,” May told him, sighing. “I'm sorry Mary didn't tell you… She died while working, and she left enough money to send both Peter and I to wherever you are if you would like to meet him.” 

“Peter?” 

“Your son…”

They were silent for a moment, both unsure if they should say something. But Tony could hear something in the background, a small voice calling out, asking ‘Aunt May’ for a snack. There was a pause in the conversation as May turned to answer the voice. When she spoke into the receiver again, apologizing, Tony couldn’t stop the words from spilling out.

“Was that him?” he asked, then felt a bit stupid. Of course it was. That… That was his son. 

“It was,” May told him, then hesitated for a moment. “Would you… Would you like to meet him? We can get a flight out whenever you’d like. I’m too old to work, and Peter hasn’t started any school yet.” 

“I’ll send someone to get you,” Tony said before he could stop himself. “A private jet, good food. My old body guard can drive you both.” 

“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Stark. If it’s not a bother, that is. When will the plane arive at the airport?” 

“How soon can you come?” 

“Peter and I will be at LaGuardia Airport tomorrow morning.” 

She hung up after that, leaving Tony to wonder what the  _ hell did he just do?! _ The world around him seemed to fade as he was suddenly stuck in his own little box, his thoughts swirling as Jarvis made the arrangements to fly his  _ son  _ out to see him. He wasn’t ready to be a father! He wasn’t ready to be a guardian! 

But he didn’t have to take custody of the boy—of  _ Peter _ . His son’s name is Peter… He has a four year old son, named Peter, who Tony can just leave with May Parker. She can raise him the right way. Since Tony knows he’d do a piss poor job at it… 

Tony knew he was delving to deep in his thoughts, and suddenly, before him, he could practically see Steve. He was giving Tony a concerned look, like he was a fragile flower instead of a bomb about to explode. Especially since the arc reactor could be rigged to blow. 

_ Whatever it is,  _ Steve said, though his mouth didn’t move, just smiled.  _ I’ll help you through it. Do you want to talk about it? Or about something else, to get your mind off it?  _

_ No, _ Tony told him, though his mouth didn’t move either.  _ No, I—Coffee. I need coffee. You wanna get coffee?  _

God, what the hell was he doing?! Did he really ask Steve Rogers,  _ Captain America _ , out on a coffee date? With his  _ mind?!  _ What the hell was wrong with him?! 

_ Are you sure? If you aren’t ready to see me, that’s fine.  _ Steve was always so considerate.  _ I don’t want to come if you really don’t want me to. _

_ No. I need to—I need to talk to you about some dumb shit.  _

_ If it’s bothering you, that it definitely isn’t dumb. Where are you?  _

_ Malibu. Can you be here tomorrow morning? _

_ Already out the door.  _

Steve faded away, as if he’d never been there at all, and Tony felt less worried while at the same time even more worried. But he could play it off. For now, he returned to his work, trying to fix all the bugs in his suit. 

That night, he woke to the Mark 42 standing over him, arc reactor glowing like a beacon of guardian power. And with a repulsor aiming directly at Steve's head. 

For some reason, Steve was in his Malibu house, in his room, on the floor, with ruffled hair and clothes like he had been thrown. In an instant, the repulsor started to whir, signaling the charging of power, and Tony jumped into action. He cried out, telling the machine  _ no  _ as he shoved the metal arm away. The suit shattered, falling to the floor as teve scrambled to his feet. 

“Anthony,” the super soldier said as he moved forward, then hesitated, as if touching him would cause him to shatter like the suit had. “Are you okay?” 

“It's not supposed to do that,” Tony said quickly, fumbling to get his screw driver. “It must have come to me while I was asleep. I don't know why… It shouldn't have done that. Why did it-- Wait, why are you here?...”

Steve hesitated, watching Tony make a fool of himself. God, he was such an idiot! 

“You asked me out to coffee,” he finally said. “Your… AI? That's what the ceiling voice is called right? Well, he got into my gps to show me where your house is. He let me in, too.” 

“The ‘ceiling voice’?” Tony asked, starting to grin, even though his eyes hurt. “That's great Cap. His name is Jarvis. Jay! Did you hear that? Make a note. ‘Ceiling Voice’ is your new code name.” 

“Note made, Sir.” 

“Good. Great! Bring up a hologram of the workings of the wireless node relays. I want to get this thing fixed before May gets here. God, I need coffee.” 

“If you want, I can get you some,” Steve said, straightening his clothes. “Black, right?” 

Tony blinked, staring at Steve's back as he moved out of the room. He wasn't sure what to say about that. Nor what to say when Steve came back with a cup in each hand, and some kind of notebook under his arm. The blond held a cup out to Tony, which he took, and then moved to sit in a chair in the corner next to a table. He set his cup down, opened the book, and started to… sketch. Steve must like to draw. 

They went on for a while, Tony’s eye starting to ache from working in the dark for so long. When his cup was empty, and he could feel the effect of the dream—nightmare, really—ebb away, he could feel the reassurance slowly coming from Steve, though it was subdued, as if the super soldier was half asleep. A glance up showed that Steve, was in fact, starting to doze in his chair. 

Not wanting to wake him, Tony grabbed a blanket from his bed, carrying it to Steve to lay it over him. After all, even supersoldiers needed to stay warm. Especially Capsicles. But Steve made a soft humming sound, blinking his eyes open, then held out his untouched cup. It was still hot, somehow, and Steve smiled softly when Tony took it. 

“Thought you might want a second,” Steve said, stretching a bit. “Antonio always did.” 

Tony tensed at the mention of the name, a name that he felt he should know, but didn’t. Who was Antonio Carbonell? Why hadn’t Jarvis brought the files to him? And why did the sadness that came from Steve when he said that name hurt and anger him so much? 

Steve must have sensed Tony’s feelings, because he sighed and looked away. 

“You know,” he said, looking everywhere but Tony. “There’s… a reason I always call you Anthony. I know you don’t like it, but that last thing I want to do is start thinking you’re him. That you’re my Tony… And while you can be my Tony, if you want, I don’t want to start treating you like you’re Antonio. 

“You’re so alike in so many ways: your passion for technology, your will to save people, your self sacrificing. You have some of the same habits, too. You mumble while you work, or always smirk and joke when you don’t want me—anyone to notice that you’re worried. And I know that you probably don’t believe me, but I will never, or try to never, treat you like you’re Antonio. Because while you’re both very alike, you’re also different. And that’s what I love about you.” 

For a moment, Tony could say nothing, simply stare at Steve as the blonde reached out, both with a hand and with the bond. The hand cupped his cheek, asking for permission as the bond slowly prodded, asking for permission. And before he could stop himself, Tony had sent acceptance over the bond, and Steve had pressed his lips to his. 

While it was soft and gentle, as if Steve was still unsure, Tony eagerly surged forward, returning it. Soon, there was more tongue and a firm but gentle grip on the back of Tony’s neck, pulling him closer for more. 

And as fast as it had arrived, it was gone, leaving Tony with sparks flying in his mind and over the bond as Steve rested his forehead to his. 

“This…” Steve breath, laughing a bit. “This isn’t why I came here… You were worried about something. Something having to do with tomorrow. Or later today, I guess, since it’s past midnight. Do you, uh, want to talk about it or should I go sleep on the couch?...” 

“Oh,” Tony said dumbly. “Oh, well, uh, I just think I should tell you—No wait… Shouldn’t start like that.” He started to mumble to himself, unsure of what to say. Then, deciding with on a course of action, he looked at Steve, dead in the eye, and asked something he instantly regretted. “What do you think of kids?” 

Steve stared at him for a moment, clearly surprised, and Tony was half tempted to just get in the suit and go. Screw it. He wanted to get out of here. 

“Why do you ask?” Steve asked before he could go. “Because I don’t want to assume anything.”

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair as he sat on his bed. How to start this conversation… This was going to be a mess that even he didn’t know how to clean up. God, what to say, what to do… 

“I slept around when I was younger,” he finally said. “Well, I slept around until I got this—” Tony knocked on the arc reactor, which was the only real source of light in the room. “—and I became Iron Man. Well, my last… ‘girlfriend’ died recently, and her cousin called me up to tell me that she delivered a bouncing baby boy nine months after we broke up. And he’s my son, and coming here tomorrow so I can meet him.” 

He waited for a moment, wondering what Steve would say, what he would do. Would Steve be angry with him? He was a rather traditional man, being from the 1980’s, and he probably didn't like the idea of people born from unbonded parents. But Steve didn’t get angry or leave, or even scold him. He just nodded, thinking for a moment. 

“Well,” Steve said as he crossed his arms. “I can’t tell you what to do, I know that, but if you want my advice, I’d have to say that you should at least meet him. You don’t have to decide to take custody, you could just visit him, or not. Just meet the boy and make your decision after that.” 

With a nod, Tony slowly chewed his lip for a moment, then looked at Steve. “Do you… wanna stay the rest of the night?” 

“If that’s alright,” Steve quickly returned, getting up. “I’m sure the couch is-”

“No. I meant… in here. With me.” 

For a long moment, neither said anything. They stared at each other, Tony worried about if he said the wrong thing, and Steve clearly unsure of how to continue. Eventually, Steve gave a nervous smile, and moved forward with a nod. 

Tony quickly moved to his spot of the bed, turned away from Steve. He felt the bed dip form the strong man’s weight, and then flatten a bit as he laid down. The room was void of noise for a while, Steve simply lying there as his breathing evened out, and then Tony took a risk, and turned to look at the blond. The supersoldier was sleeping, or at least, falling asleep, laying on his back. Such a military way to sleep… 

Taking another risk, Tony rolled over, and buried himself carefully in the nook at Steve’s side. This is what he had craved, for all those years… He craved the contact of his soulmate, of the one who loved him so dearly. And now he had it. He had waited for this, and now he had it. 

And just as he was starting to fall into a dreamless sleep, Tony felt Steve turn, and wrap him in his arms, his face in Tony’s hair. 

_ I can't believe I tried to run from this, _ Tony thought to himself as he faded off to a peaceful sleep. That night, there was no cold, no deep darkness of space. Just warmth, and the golden sun. 

The next morning, Tony woke to an alarm. It was odd, as he usually woke on his own some time before five to go work in the lab. With a grumble for Jarvis to shut it off, he rolled over, eager to return to his blissful sleep. Only, there was no supersoldier to be his space heater (read: cuddle buddy). 

Sitting up sharply, Tony looked around, wondering where the hell Steve was. The sketchbook was gone from where it had sat after Steve had come to the bed, and so were the mugs. There was, however, a thermos sitting on the nightstand, with a piece of paper underneath. Tony quickly took it. 

_ Tony, _ __   
_ I left early to go for my morning run. I asked Jarvis to wake you up by nine, but I probably won't be back today. I’m a tourist. The thermos has coffee in it, just don’t drink it too fast.  _ __   
_ May Parker called. I told Jarvis I would answer, and she said that she and Peter would be there around noon. And since I wasn’t sure what you wanted to call us, or me, so I just told her I was a friend that was visiting while on a road trip.  _ _   
_ __ Steve

With a sigh, he got up, and took the thermos down to the lab. He worked on the suit for awhile, not sure of what else to do, and eventually went to shower and clean up. By the time he was dressed, though only in a simple t-shirt and his only pair of unstained jeans, his hair tried and styled, it was already noon. 

Tony paced nervously in his living room, fiddling with a… well, a toy he had made. It wasn’t much, just a little robotic spider, though it was only the skeleton as he had yet to make a cover for it. It could crawl up walls, and jump off of things. Tony just… wasn’t sure whether he should give it to Peter or not. Did Peter like spiders? Well, it was a start for a surveillance device, he supposed, if Peter ended up not liking it. 

The knock on the door made him jump, shoulder tense, and he half ignored Jarvis as the AI announced the arrival of Happy with May and Peter. 

When he opened the door, the old, frail woman that stood there smiled, holding out a hand. Her other was held tightly in the hands of a little boy with a tumble of brown hair and deep brown eyes. Tony took the hand, though focused on the boy—on his  _ son _ as he stared back. 

“May Parker,” the woman said, smiling sweetly as she shook his hand. “And this is Peter…” 

“Hey,” Tony said, “I’m Tony Stark.” 

Swallowing thickly, he let go of May’s hand to let them both in. May led the way, Peter close at her side, though he kept glancing back at Tony. Happy followed in after them, pausing to grin at Tony as he whispered to him. “The kid is adorable.” 

Tony took in a deep breath, closing the door before following after them. May had sat down on the couch, Peter next to her, and Happy off to the side to watch as Tony moved to stand before them. He felt like he was standing before his own firing squad.

Before he could say anything, Peter spoke up. 

“Mom said that if I met you, I should tell you how I feel,” he said, his little voice sounding mostly confident, but still a bit unsure. “So you should know, that I know you’re really important, and you’re a superhero, but I like that I get to meet you. If you don’t want me, then I’m happy that I got that.” 

Tony’s eyes went wide, and he instantly wanted to scoop the boy up into his arms. That was just about the saddest thing he had ever heard! Happy looked like he was about to cry! Peter looked like he was about to cry, with his little hands in his lap, and his head down. Tony knew he had to do something. Remembering the toy, he pulled it out, holding it out to Peter. 

“I made this for you,” Tony said, grinning when Peter took it. “I think you should know, Peter, that if I had known about you sooner… If your mother had told me, then you would never have to feel that way. I’m just… shit with emotions.” 

May gave him a glare, though Peter giggled at him before looking up at May. She seemed to think for a moment before she sighed. “Mr. Stark, would you maybe like to have the day with Peter? I’m sure Mr. Hogan could show me around the city while you two get acquainted.” 

For a second, he was unsure again. Was that a good idea? Should he wait? But the excited and hopeful look in Peter’s eyes was too much, and he quickly nodded. 

“Yeah, sure.” he said, giving Peter a grin. “I’m sure we’ll find something to do.” 

“He can show me how this works,” Peter calls with a grin, holding up the spider. 

May and Happy left soon after that, and Tony set to work showing Peter how the spider worked. It was controlled with a wireless keyboard, that Peter had a bit of trouble pressing the right keys on. They messed with the spider for what seemed like a good hour before Jarvis announced that Dum-E was trying to get in from the lab. Tony couldn’t resist showing Peter the lab after that, and the boy was more than eager to play with Dum-E as U and Butterfingers whirled around in excitement. 

Peter loved the lab, and before Tony knew it, they were setting up a table and section for Peter off to the side. The boy showed Tony what he knew, and they were building a better version of a robotic arm that Peter had made for a community science fair. 

Before they knew it, it was already evening, and Jarvis had ordered chinese for them. They ate and talked, and Peter told Tony about his day-care and his friends. Everything was great! 

It got even better when Steve came back, finding the two sprawled out on the floor controlling the spider as it crawled along the ceiling. Peter liked Steve before he even knew he was Captain America, grinning when Tony said that Steve was staying with him for a while. Steve was also grinning at this. But, of course, after a good six or seven hours of knowing Peter, it came to an end. 

After all, all good things have to end some time… 

It started when Peter had fallen asleep, exhausted from his day of fun with his dad, and Jarvis had turned on the news for them. A bomb had gone off at the Chinese theater. Where Jarvis had last pinged Happy and May’s location. The frantic call from Pepper had confirmed that the two had been caught in the blast. 

Everything after that was a blur. Tony remembered waking up Peter, the speedy drive to the hospital, and Peter’s sullen but not teary eyed face looking at him when he saw his aunt in the hospital bed. Then there was the broadcast from the Mandarin, and the reporters… His challenge to the Mandarin, and then going back to the house without Steve and Peter to find Maya Hansen and Pepper… 

Then the helicopters, and the bombs… The prototype suit coming to him and the fight with the choppers. And just like that, he was falling into the water, downing. He blacked out as he could feel Steve screaming at him through the bond. 

_ No! No, not again!  _

Funny, Tony didn’t know which one of them had thought that…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hard to choose a question for this chapter, but, thoughts on the relationships between Tony and Steve or Tony and Peter?


	10. Kids, Friends, Enemies, and Other Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is left in the wake of the Mandarin attack with Peter in his care. Now, the Supersoldier must go to Washington DC, meeting old and new friends, as well as old and new enemies.

Steve Rogers was a mess. 

One second, he was talking with a police officer, who wanted to know if Steve knew anything, then the next, Steve was watching in horror as Tony’s house was blown up. He saw Tony fall into the water, in a suit of Iron Man armor. 

_ No!  _ One of them thought, though Steve wasn’t sure which.  _ No, not again!  _

SHIELD was quick to show up after that. 

They asked Steve many, many questions: why he was there, who Peter was, who the woman was. Steve answered the best he could, and Natasha came to retrieve him with a lawyer. Apparently, now a days, soulmates didn’t go register together. Agencies like SHIELD would add it to their databases instead. And since there was evidence that Peter was Tony’s son, and Steve and Tony were registered in the SHIELD database, Peter was currently in Steve’s custody. 

It seemed that even now, after 70 years, if you were a registered soulmate, you might as well be married. Peter didn’t quite understand what they were saying, just that he was going with Steve. Who was being called to Washington DC until the Mandarin was caught and Tony was found. 

They had to convince Peter that May would be okay before they could be leave. The boy seemed to like Natasha after they told him that her code name was Black Widow. He couldn’t stop asking her questions, though he stayed beside Steve the entire time, his little hands holding onto Steve’s large ones. 

The flight was long, though Steve didn’t mind. He listened to Peter, got to know him a little better; though, it was passed eight pm, so Peter fell asleep not long after they took off. He prefered listening to the boy talk about it rather than focus on the sudden wall that was erected in the center of the bond he shared with Tony. When they landed, Steve had to carry him to the car, while Natasha briefed him on what was going to happen. 

Steve would be stationed in DC as a reserve in case they found Tony. Peggy had been moved from London to DC, as she had seen the news. He had scheduled a meeting with her, when she had some free time between SHIELD lectures, a condition of her return to the states. 

When he arrived, Peter stayed half hidden behind him, simply watching as Steve smiled at his old friend. 

“Hey Peggy,” he said, drawing her attention. “Been awhile, huh?” 

“You made my boy wait,” was all she said before she smiled. “I saw you and Anthony on the news… I’m glad you’re still saving people, and that you finally found him. I… I’ve started to forget things, sometimes, and I never had the time to give him this.” 

Peggy held out a folder, thick with papers and photo’s. It was held closed with a thick cord of twine. The Strategic Scientific Reserve logo was on the cover, stamped with a bold, red, classified label, but so was a name. Antonio Leonardo-Valente-Nicolo Carbonell. 

With a wide eyed look to Peggy, Steve pulled off the twine, opening the folder only to let out a choked sob when he saw the picture of Antonio. His darling genius Antonio! They had never gotten an official photo for him, so the first picture was really a picture of him at his work station, holding his specially made guns. Steve remembered when this was taken. Antonio wasn’t looking at the camera, but instead at Steve, frowning as his mouth began to open, to ask what was happening. Maria and Peggy had been laughing at him in the background, blurs that hadn’t come out in the photo. 

Underneath was Antonio’s information sheet, with his birthday, his family, to who his belongs would go to… Everything had gone to Steve, then Maria, then Peggy… From the looks of the possessions list underneath the info sheet, it looked like all of it was with Steve’s things. The things he had left where they were in the Stark family storage. 

The rest of the folder was made of mission reports or research reports, all in Antonio’s hand writing, and photo’s of Antonio, of him with Antonio, or of the entire team… Steve didn’t even have some of those pictures. After all, he had thought he wouldn’t need any pictures of Antonio, that he would be with him until they both died years later. Antonio had always prepared for the worst… Like he had expected that he wouldn’t live through the war… 

A tug on the hem of Steve’s shirt drew him back to the present, and he looked down to find Peter looking up at him in worry. 

“Mr. Rogers?” Peter said, figiting. “Are you okay?...” 

“I…” Steve hesitated, then looked at Peggy, helpless. He needed some air. He needed… He needed to be alone for a while. “Peter, this nice lady is going to watch you for a little while, okay? I’m going to… I’m going for a run, okay?” 

Peter’s grip tightened on his shirt, looking a bit frightened. Steve winced at that, gnawing at his lip before he got down to look the boy in the eye. For a second, Peter looked away, clearly afraid to look him in the eye. 

“Peter,” Steve said carefully, though sternly. “Look at me.” 

The boy turned his big brown eyes up at Steve, so much like Tony’s that for a second, Steve was a little jealous. Tony had such a beautiful son, a son that looked so much like him. Steve wondered, briefly, if he would ever have his own son. Or, perhaps, a son with Tony? A child that was both of them? What would they even look like? Would Steve be a good father? But that wasn’t what he needed to focus on at the moment. 

“I will never leave you, Peter,” Steve said seriously, glancing at Peggy. “I’m just going outside. You’ll stay here with Peggy. She’s… She’s your great aunt, and while I’m out, she’ll tell you all sorts of stories about when your daddy was little.” 

“And some stories about Steve,” Peggy said as she pat the bed she was laying in. “Come and sit, sweetheart.” 

Peter looked up at Peggy, then at Steve. When Steve nodded, the boy crawled up to the bed, sitting down cross legged at the end of the bed. Peggy smiled, a smile that told Steve that he might not want to be here when he told whatever story she had planned. 

He left quickly after that, hearing Peggy tell Peter ‘Let me tell you about the time…’ before he closed the door. Steve went outside, letting out a deep breath, then turned and started to run. 

Running had always been a stabilizer for him. It helped him focus, or calm down, or forget his troubles. That, or boxing. But since he didn’t have a punching bag anywhere nearby, and he certainly didn’t want Peter to see him when he was hitting things, he ran. 

He ran at a good pace, a good training pace, for himself. On his way into his first lap, he saw a black man in sweats running. Calling out as he approached, and about to pass, he warned the man with a quick ‘On your left’, before continuing on his way. It was fairly early, though it was getting brighter outside. He passed the man again, giving him another warning. And he continued to pass the man, about six times, and it almost felt like a game. 

As he cleared his head, calmed down from his emotions from the pictures in the file, he started to think a bit better. He was having a hard time feeling Tony through the bond, but he could still feel it. The presence was weak, hurt, but still there. Just… closed. Like how you can call someone on a phone, and have it ring and ring, before getting a voice mail. If Tony were dead, the metaphorical phone wouldn’t ring. There would just be static. 

After Steve had come to this realization, this hope, he started to turn around the reflecting pool, and started to approach the man again. 

“Don't say it!” the man called after a glance over his shoulder. “Don't you say it!” 

“On your left,” Steve called, already passed him. He took a somewhat childish glee in the fact that the man tried to catch up with him. He had to stop though, and a few minutes later, after finishing another lap, Steve found him slumped against a tree, breathing hard. “Need a medic?” 

The man looked up, laughing a bit. “I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes.” 

“Had a late start,” Steve told him. 

“Oh, really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap.”

“Had to drop off the son of a friend of mine at his grandmother's. Been a hard few days for the kid. Mother just died, Aunt in a coma, and his Father is currently missing.” 

The man stared up at him, jaw dropped. “You’re messing with me, right? Please tell me you don’t really know a kid that’s going through all that.” 

Steve smiled sadly. “He’s four…” 

The man took in a deep breath. “I… I am ashamed. Maybe I need to do another lap.” 

“Maybe later,” Steve said, offering his hand, and pulled the man to his feet. “Steve Rogers.” 

“I kind of put that together. Sam Wilson.” 

“Nice to meet you Sam.” 

Sam nodded, and they started to walk, chatting about nothing in particular. What Sam did for a living, things to add to Steve’s ever growing list (he added AC/DC a few days before, when he asked what song Tony had played when he arrived in Germany), and what it was like coming back from their military tours. 

They swapped numbers before they split ways, and Steve got back to the place Peggy was staying at to find Peter giggling at what she was saying. Steve didn’t hear all of it, but he heard something about Tony and a dummy? He would have to ask her about it later. 

“Mr. Rogers!” Peter called when he opened the door. “Mr. Rogers, did you know that Dad makes big robots? He made me a spider robot and it was really fun to play with, but these robots move on their own and can do things! I got to see one of them at Dad’s, but he has three! Ms. Peggy told me about them!” 

“Oh Peter,” Peggy said, pinching the boys chubby cheek. “Call me Aunty Peggy!” 

“Okay Aunt Peggy,” Peter said as he giggled. 

Steve smiled, moving to pick up Antonio’s folder. He held his hand out to Peter, who came to him quickly, holding onto his hand. 

“Sorry we can’t stay,” Steve told Peggy, giving her a sad smile. “I have to go to the apartment SHIELD gave me. My friend, Natasha, she set up my room and what not. All of our things are already there.” 

“Well, don’t let me hold you up, Rogers. You still need to find my godson.” 

“Don’t worry. I will.” 

They left after that, Peter holding tight to his hand as he told Steve about some of the things that Peggy had told him. Apparently, the story about Tony and a dummy, the dummy was the name of a robot that Tony had built. The first AI. And it made smoothies. Inedible smoothies. 

When they arrived at the apartment building, Steve looked carefully for the room. When he found it, there was a woman opening the door to her own apartment. She looked oddly like Peggy, and Steve momentarily wondered if they might be related. That was a ridiculous idea, though. Peggy would have told him. 

The blond looked up at him as he walked over, and frowned at him, a basket of laundry in her hands. “I haven’t seen you around before… Didn’t even know anyone moved into that apartment. Anyway, can you tell your wife to turn down the stereo? It’s pretty loud.” 

Steve blinked, saying a quick thank you as he watched her go down the stairs, probably to a washing machine downstairs. He turned to Peter, who was looking up at him expectantly, and then smiled nervously. He should have come to check out the apartment before getting Peter back from Peggy. 

“Peter,” Steve said as he smiled, doing his best to be convincing. “We’re going to play a little game, okay? I’m going to give you a piggy back ride, and you’re going to close your eyes, and you’re going to hold on tight until I say the game is over, okay?” 

The boy nodded, and Steve hoisted him up, waiting until the boy’s arms were secured around him. He then made his way back outside into an alleyway, and scaled the wall to the apartment window. No one was supposed to be inside the apartment. 

When he got inside, he found himself in a bedroom, his shield lying on the bed. He let Peter down, and ordered him to hide somewhere. The boy, thankfully, did as he was told, and hid as Steve left the room. He went down the hall, listening to the record that was playing. After peeking around the corner to find Nick Fury. Steve was more angry the if it had been Red Skull. 

“I don’t remember saying you could have a key,” Steve said, his shield still in hand. 

“You really think I'd need one?” Fury said, his smirk hidden in the dark. “My wife kicked me out.”

“Didn't know you were married.” 

“There are a lot of things you don't about me.” 

“I know, Nick. That's the problem.” 

He flicked on the lights, and instantly stiffened. Nick’s face was covered in cuts and bruises, and blood was dripping down his face. Nick raised a finger to his lips, reaching out to turn the light back off. He pulled out his phone, typing on it for a moment before he turned it to show Steve. 

**EARS EVERYWHERE**

“I'm sorry to have do this,” Nick said, slowly standing up. “But I had no place else to crash.” 

**SHIELD COMPROMISED**

“Who else knows about your wife?” Steve asked. 

“Just...my friends.”  **YOU AND ME**

“Is that what we are?” 

“That’s up to you,” Nick said. 

And in an instant, everything went to hell for the third time in the last 48 hours. Three rounds were shot through the window, straight into Nick’s back. Steve could hear Peter start to cry in the other room, as he dragged Nick away from the line of fire. As he turned to pursue, Nick gave him a flash drive, giving him a last parting word. 

“Don’t… trust anyone.” 

Then the girl from the hallway came in, and Steve chased after the shooter, even as Peter cried out for him. He lost the one he was pursuing, though, and returned to get Peter from the SHIELD agent. The sobbing hug her got showed that he wouldn’t get to let go of Peter any time soon, and Steve did indeed have to carry Peter as he followed the ambulance to the hospital. He was like a baby koala bear, the way he clung to him. 

Natasha came to ask them both a few questions, not that either of them knew very much. When she looked at Peter, the boys hold grew tighter, as if he thought she would try to pry him out of Steve’s arms. 

_ Go, Tony _ , Steve thought momentarily over the bond.  _ Where are you?  _

He didn’t know whether he should be hurt that the line remained closed, or be relieved that he could still feel it. Either way, there wasn’t much he could do at the moment. 

They watched as Nick flatlined, and Maria Hill came to talk. Peter didn’t like her as much as he liked Natasha, and at the moment, Peter didn’t like anyone but Steve. Even Natasha seemed to be on the ‘caution’ list. 

“Captain,” Agent Rumlow said as he came in. Peter instantly stiffened, especially when Rumlow looked at him in disapproval. “They want you back at SHIELD.” 

“Right,” Steve said as he held Peter tighter. Kids always did seem to know when something was up… “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

“They want you now.” 

Steve scowled, turning to look at Rumlow with such furiousness, that the man actually flinched. If looks could kill, well… Rumlow would be six feet under. 

“And I said I’d be there as soon as I can.” 

He whirled around, walking away from the agent without another word. Peter looked less than please, though, as he looked over Steve’s shoulder. Something wasn’t right… He couldn’t look over his shoulder, that would give away that he knew something was up. So he looked ahead. Two agents were milling around, trying to not look out of place. There was another down a hallway that Steve saw with his peripheral. 

“You should go use the bathroom before we leave,” Steve said, turning to the mens bathroom. Peter looked at him in confusion, but nodded anyway. 

Once inside, Steve closed and locked the door, making sure there was no bugs or cameras, or people in the stalls. When he was sure they were alone, he pulled out the flashdrive, holding it out to Peter. 

“I need you to take this for me,” Steve whispered, as softly as he could. “I need you to go in the vents and hide there for a while, okay? I’ll be right back to come and get you.” 

Peter, as expected, hesitated, watching as he opened the grate. When he didn’t take Steve’s hand when he held it out, Steve tried not to seem to frantic. 

“Do you trust me, Peter?” 

“Yes…” 

“Have I lied to you at all?” 

“No…” 

“Then please, Peter. I need you to hide.” 

There was another second of hesitation, before Peter took his hand, letting him help him into the vent. Steve replaced the grate, giving Peter a quick nod, then watched as he started to silently crawl deeper into the vents. With that, knowing that Peter would be safe for now, Steve left the bathroom, saying a fake ‘I’ll be right back’ to the empty room, before he made his way to the elevator. 

The entire way down, the elevator stopped to let in more agents. They talked idly around him, and Steve noticed one sweating. He was surrounded. There was likely no use trying to talk himself out of this one. He would try anyway. 

“Before we get started,” Steve says calmly, “does anyone want to get out?” 

There was a moment's pause before one of the agents pulled out a shock baton. He pressed it into Steve’s chest, sending him back into the agents behind him. They grabbed onto him, and one of the others hit the stop button. An alarm dinged, and Steve struggled to get out of a choke hold. An agent with a briefcase pulled off the handle, latching it around Steve’s wrist. When his arm started to go up to the metal of the elevator, he knew it was a magnetic handcuff. 

He kicked out, getting one of the agents pushing his arm toward the metal in the knee. Once he lost his grip, Steve was free to throw off the other agents going for his arms. A second magnetic cuff went flying and into the wall, sticking. 

Steve threw punch after punch, eventually knocking most of them out. Rumlow, who Steve hadn’t noticed enter the elevator, kicked Steve’s hand, sanding it over his head and attaching to the wall. While Steve moved to try and pry it off, Rumlow pulled out a shock baton, slamming it into Steve’s back. He felt the electricity flow through him, and he grit his teeth before throwing him off. 

This continued for a while longer, Steve throwing and punching the agents around him. Eventually, he and Rumlow were the only ones standing. 

“Whoa, big guy,” Rumlow said, hands up. “I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal.” 

They entered a hand to hand fight immediately after that. Every now and then, Rumlow would jab him in the ribs with the shock baton. He was knocked out easily enough, though, when Steve threw him into the ceiling. 

“It kind of feels personal,” Steve said, flipping up his shield into his hand. 

He pressed the door button, only to be met with a horde of armed agents. He cut the cable, the elevator falling. If they were willing to attack him this way, in a hospital, they would be ready to attack on whatever floor he stopped at. 

When the elevator stopped, Steve didn’t bother opening the door. He charged the window, shield in front of him, and jumped out. Down he fell, slamming through a glass roof, and startling many, many civilians. They all watched as he got up, looked round, then ran to the garage.

He hijacked a car, one that wasn’t very noticeable in the stream of people leaving or going to the hospital. SHIELD lost him soon after he left the parking garage. 

About three hours later, he was back to the hospital, dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a hoodie. Peter must be so scared, was his only thought, as he wade his way around the hospital, hoping he could find Peter before anyone noticed. As he passed the bathroom he had used to let Peter hide, Natasha stepped into view, Peter next to her. 

The boy moved quickly to him, and Steve scooped him up, hugging him close to his chest. There were small streaks of tears rolling down Peter’s face as he sniffled. When Steve pulled back to wipe away the tears, Peter sniffled, lip quivering. 

“She took the thing,” Peter said, hiccupping. “I told her she couldn’t have it, but she took it…” 

Steve turned his gaze to Natasha, who looked at him impassively. “I know who killed Fury,” was all she said, moving to open the door to the men's bathroom. No one was inside, so Steve made no move to stop her as she followed him in. 

“Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists,” she instantly said once the door was closed. “The ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years.” 

“So he’s a ghost story?” Steve asked, smoothing out Peter’s hair. 

“Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, and somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff. I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me.” She pulled up her shirt, showing a scar on her stomach. “A Soviet slag, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis. Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried. Like you said, he's a ghost story.” 

She held out the flash drive to Peter, who glanced at her before taking it, and holding it out to Steve. Steve took it, pressing a soft kiss to Peter’s forehead in thanks. 

“Well,” Steve said with a grin. “Let's find out what the ghost wants.”

Since they didn’t have anywhere else to put Peter, not that he would leave Steve’s side, they took him with them. He was very brave, Steve had to admit. Brave like Tony.  _ Both _ Tony’s. So they dressed up like a normal family, made a plan for if anyone asked what they were doing. Peter was Natasha’s nephew that was visiting, and Steve was dating Natasha. It made Steve a little nauseous to think about dating anyone but Tony, though he knew how important this was. 

They used a computer in a Mac store to hack the drive. After an awkward interaction with one of the clerks, where Peter was better at following their cover story then he was, Steve led the way back outside, his hat pulled over his face. Peter seemed to know what to do to stay hidden in plain sight, and took hold of their hands when they started to walk passed a SHIELD agent on their way out. 

“Swing me!” Peter giggled, rather loudly, and Steve had wondered if maybe he should try to find some place for Peter to stay once they get out of this mess. 

“Okay,” Natasha said though, staying in character. “But just this once.” 

Steve kept his eyes on Peter, lifting the boy up with Natasha, and swinging him lightly by his arms. Peter giggled some more, and the agents walked by without even a glance. On the elevator, Peter hid behind them, out of Rumlow’s sight, as Natasha made Steve kiss her. He almost jumped back, but they made it past Rumlow without any problems. When they arrived in the parking garage, Steve stole a van for them, and they left for New Jersey. Peter fell asleep in the back seat in an instant. The kid must have been tired. It had been a long day. While Steve drove, Natasha sat in the passenger seat, making idle conversation.

“Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?” she asked, smirking at him. 

“Nazi Germany,” Steve said, rolling his eyes. “And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash. Set a good example for Peter.” 

“Right. Because the kid isn’t totally knocked out. So, I have a question for you. Of which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?” 

“What is it?” 

“Was that your first kiss since 1945? Besides the one with Tony in New York, I mean.” 

For a second, Steve wasn’t sure how to answer. Or if he should answer. He wasn’t sure where Tony stood on the whole ‘telling people’ thing. Natasha seemed to take his silence as a yes, though, and hummed to herself. 

“Right,” she said. “The whole soulmate thing. Tony wasn’t responding to well. At least, that’s what I thought until I found out you were with him at the hospital and are in charge of his son.” 

“He asked me out to coffee,” Steve said, smiling to himself. “At nine o’clock in the evening. When I got there, sometime after midnight, we had a private conversation and… Well, I kissed him, and he kissed me back this time. And then he invited me to sleep in his bed and he let me meet Peter before everything went down with the Mandarin.” 

Natasha blinked. “Wait, you and Tony slept together? I thought you were still a blushing virgin.” 

Steve hummed. “Well, yes and no. Tony Stark? We really did sleep. Tony Carbonell? Yes. A lot.” 

She stared at him as he smirked, shooting her a look. It was clear she hadn’t been expecting that, and he took the satisfaction that he could surprise her with glee. After all, it wasn’t every day you surprised the Black Widow. 

“Who the hell is Tony Carbonell?” 

“Antonio Carbonell,” Steve said, in his best smart ass tone, “was the brother of Maria Stark, and Anthony Stark’s previous incarnation. I shared a bond with him from the day I rescued him and the 107th, until he died in the field with James Barnes. We shared a tent.” 

With a snort, Natasha shook her head. “Your love life is hell.” 

Steve couldn’t help but agree, and turned back to focus on the road. However, his mind is anywhere but driving. There was so much going on right now. Tony was MIA, even from him, and he had no clue what was going on with this Mandarin thing. Was it connected to SHIELD some how? Or was it more then just SHIELD? 

He returned focus to the road, and finished his drive to his old training camp. A glance at Peter in the back seat showed the boy still sound asleep, curled up in the hoodie Steve had been wearing at the mall. With a glance at Natasha, he shrugged, parking the car outside the camp fence, and getting out. Peter would be fine sleeping in the car while they went in. They’d hopefully just be a few minutes. 

However, it took quite a bit longer then Steve had thought. He spent a bit too much time simply looking around, or finding the secret entrances. Then the talk with Zola happened, and wasn’t that a… What did people call it nowadays? A mind fuck? 

Then, halfway through, he felt a small tingle in the back of his mind. It was almost like he was trying to talk to Tony over the bond. For a moment he wondered if he had been subconsciously prodding at the block. No, he would have realized it sooner. 

That's when he realized he wasn’t picking at the wall. The prodding was coming from the  _ other side _ . 

He sucked in a breath, wide eyed and startled. Natasha jumped, whirling around to look at him in surprise as he mentally slammed into the wall. Tony was breaking it down! Tony was trying to talk to him! 

And then, like a flood, words echoed in his mind, screaming so loudly. 

_ Run! Take Peter! Hide! They’re coming for you!  _

Steve blinked, confused, about to ask what was going on, but Zola’s words hit him like a punch to the face. 

“-shall be too dead to hear it.” 

Steve turned, noticing the door start to close, and threw his shield. He failed, though, and caught it as he turned to look at Natasha. They have to get out of here. Have to get to Peter. They-

“Got a bogey,” Natasha said, her phone in her hand. “Short range ballistics. 30 seconds, tops. Blast won't touch the car, but-” 

“Who fired it?” Steve demanded. 

“SHIELD.” 

Steve didn’t listen to anything else, after that. He pulled up a grate from the floor, jumping down into it, and pulling Natasha with him. Hefting his shield above his head, he clenched his teeth, knowing that what ever Tony had tried to warn him about, he was too late. 

And true to his prediction, by the time they crawled out of the debris, Peter was gone from the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there goes the last chapter of the year! Hope you all enjoyed this one, and happy New Year!  
> Probably the easiest question yet: Any idea who wants Peter, and why?  
> Also, before I forget, I've been thinking about making a squeal of this, once it's all finished, for Peter and Wade because I ship Spideypool, but I'd like to know if that's something you readers would want.


	11. Potato Guns, Fiery Explosions, Pretend Terrorists, and Other Things.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wakes up to try and find out what exactly is going on.

Tony woke to a blaring alarm and Jarvis calling out to him. 

“Sir,” the AI said, rather frantically. “Sir!” 

“Alright,” Tony said as he blinked himself fully awake, “kill the alarm. I got it.”

“That's the emergency alert triggered by the power dropping below five percent.” 

That’s when Tony noticed he was flying. Through snow. It hadn’t been snowing in Malibu last he checked. And what time was it? The helicopters hadn’t shown up until noon! Before he could ask Jarvis, the suit starts to loose altitude, leaving him to crash to the ground in the middle of a forest. Turning onto his back, Tony pulled off his face plate, breathing hard. 

“It's snowing, right? Where are we, upstate?”

“We're five miles outside of Rose Hills, Tennessee.”

“What?” Tony screeched “Why?! Jarvis! Not my idea! What are we doing here? This is thousands of miles away, I gotta get Peter and Steve, I gotta…”

He trailed off, instead feeling the bond inside his head. There was… a wall, now. A wall that he had subconsciously created while unconscious. Because how else would it have gotten there? Steve wouldn’t have put up a wall, definitely not. He had done it himself, as a defense. After all, he’s seen enough people go crazy from losing their soulmates. If the bond was blocked, seemingly empty, then perhaps Steve would be able to last just a while longer without him. 

“I prepared a flight plan,” Jarvis said. “This was the location that is nearest to the last bomb site.” 

“Alright. Open the suit.” 

“I...I think I may be malfunctioning, sir.” 

“Open eject.” The suit opens, allowing Tony to sit up and pull himself out. It was rather cold, and as he stood up, he could really feel the chill. “That's brisk! Maybe I'll just cozy back up for a bit.” 

“I actually... think I need to sleep now, sir.” 

And with that, the suit went dim, light fading to nothing. Tony stood their for a moment, unsure of what to do. Unless he wanted to break down the wall and call Steve for help, he had no suit, no strategy, and no warmth. 

Without any other idea’s, Tony did his best to drag the suit towards town. It was cold, and he was down right freezing, but he made it to a petrol station. He didn’t dare call anyone, to afraid to hear Peter cry. The boy had been through so much already, but Steve would be able to take care of him for a while. He did take the poncho off of the wooden indian that was outside before he left. 

He continued on his way after that, trying to find a good place to hide out until he sorted out this Mandarin thing. As far as he was aware, the nearest property that he owned was in Texas, but he couldn’t that far; thankfully, Tony stumbled upon an abandoned farm house. Inside was what almost looked like a workshop, like the one he had as a kid. 

Setting the suit up on the couch, he sat down beside it, taking a deep breath. It would be a long… God, how long was he going to be gone? Was this going to be like Afghanistan? Three months of no one knowing where he was? Or was he going into hiding? 

He couldn’t think about that for now. He had to stay focused on fixing up the suit. So, Tony went to work. First, he worked on setting up a power source for the suit. Ironically enough, there was a few car batteries that he could connect to the suit. But as he stood at the bench, trying to fix the implants in his arm, the barn door opened, and a young boy, probably no older than eight, stepped in with a toy potato gun. 

“Freeze!” the boy shouted, pointing the potato gun at him. “Don't move.” 

“You got me,” Tony said as he turned. “Nice potato gun. Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, it's gonna diminish your FPS. 

The boy glared at him, turning to aim at a glass on a shelf. He fired, shattering the glass, then turned to aim at Tony again.

“And now you're out of ammo.”

“What's that thing on your chest?” 

“It's a electromagnet. You should know, you've got a box of them right here.” 

“What does it power?”

Tony reaches out, adjusting the desk lamp so it points at his suit sitting on the couch behind him. The change was instantaneous. Dropping the gun, the boy dropped the potato gun and moved to look at the suit. Tony was almost reminded of how Peter looked when he saw Dum-E for the first time the day before. 

“Oh my God! That...that's... Is that Iron Man?”

“Technically, I am.”

“Technically, you're dead.” 

He shoved a newspaper into Tony’s chest, which he unfolded, finding his own picture on the cover. The the headline was 'Mandarin Attack: Stark presumed dead'. A smaller column, on the side, had a picture of Steve carrying a crying Peter. That headline was ‘Mourning Lover and Son?’

“A valid point,” Tony said as he skimmed the column. Seemed like the press was picking up on his secrets… 

“What happened to him?” the boy asked as he sat down next to the suit. 

“Life,” Tony said as he sighed. “I built him. I take care of him. I'll fix him.”

“Like a mechanic?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. If I was building Iron Man and War Machine…”

“It's Iron Patriot now.”

“That's way cooler!”

Tony snorted. “No, it's not.”

“Anyways, I would have added in um... the retro…”

“Retroreflective panels?”

“To make him stealth mode.”

“You want a stealth mode?”

“Cool, right?”

“That's actually a good idea,” he admits, rubbing his chin. “Maybe I'll build one. What’s your name, kid?”

“Wade,” the boy says, accidentally snapping a finger off the suit. “Oops!”

“Not a good idea!” Tony says as he moved to take the finger away. “What are you doing? You're gonna break his finger? He's in pain, he's been injured. Leave him alone.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you? Don't worry about it, I'll fix it. So, uh, who's home?”

“Well, my dad already left for the bar.” 

Tony wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway. “What about your mom?”

“Cancer,” Wade said, looking down at his feet. “She went in for chemo over a year ago and she never came back. Dad’s been drinking ever since.” 

“It happens,” Tony said, trying not to think about it too much. “Dads get drunk, parents die. It’s life. I need your help. To get the suit up and running. Here's what I need: a laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone, the pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there, a map of town, a big spring, and a tuna fish sandwich.”

“What's in it for me?”

“Salvation,” he said, then paused. “What's his name?”

“Who?”

“The kid that bullies you at school, what's his name?”

“How'd you know that?:

Tony didn’t bother answering that, and pulled a mini taser from his suit. “I got just the thing. This is a pinata for a cricket. I'm kidding, it's a very powerful weapon. Point it away from your face, press the button on top. It discourages bullying. Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass.” When Wade reached for it, Tony pulled  it back. “Deal? Deal? What'd you say?”

“Deal.”

“Deal,” Tony agrees, giving Wade the mini taser. “What's your name again?”

“Wade,” he said, looking the taser over. “And you're…”

“The mechanic. Tony.” For a minute, Tony simply watched Wade. If Peter was bullied at school, what would Tony do? Would he give him a mini taser? He probably wouldn’t have to. Steve might go and sort out the problem himself. Did he plan to actually keep Peter. Yes, he realized, as Wade looked up at him, but that shouldn’t be what he should focus on right now. “You know what keeps going through my head? Where's my sandwich?” 

A good hour or two later, and Tony was walking down the street with Wade. He was a good kid, really, just a little depressed since his father was an ass and his mom was gone. Tony could relate. They had talked for a while, Tony learning more about this kid then he thought he would learn about any kid besides his own. Apparently, Wade Winston Wilson was born in Canada, and moved to America for his father's job. He was also seven. Turns out, when kids are left alone for to long, they learn survival skills. Like shooting burglars with bb guns and potato cannons. 

“The sandwich was fair,” Tony said as they walked. “The spring was a little rusty. The rest of the materials, I'll make do. By the way, when you said you had a watch, I was kinda hoping for something a little more than this.” 

He pulled back his sleeve, tapping the little pink watch on his wrist, making Wade laugh. 

“My Dad is cheap. When can we talk about New York?”

“Maybe never, relax about it.”

“What about The Avengers, can you talk about them?”

“Depends on the Avenger.” 

They soon came to a stop, in front of the remains of the explosion site. Tony looked around, observing the site. There was a large crater on the ground, filled with murky water and chunks of ice from the snow. Along the walls of the buildings around it, there were five shadows, in the shapes of people, with crosses and candles underneath. 

“What's the official story here?” Tony asked. “What happened?”

“I guess this guy named Chad Davis, used to live roundabouts, won a bunch of medals in the army.” Wade shrugged, stuffing his hands in his coat. “One day, folks said he went crazy and made, you know, a bomb. Then he blew himself up right here.” 

“Six people died, right?”

“Yeah.”

Tony raised a sceptical brow as Wade sat down beside the water filled crater. “Including Chad Davis?”

“Yeah.” 

“That doesn’t make sense,” he said as he sat next to Wade. “Think about it. Six dead, only five shadows.”

“Yeah, people said these shadows are like the mark of souls gone to Heaven. Except the bomb guy, he went to Hell on account of he didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five.”

“Do you buy that?”

For a moment, Wade didn’t reply. He stared at the crater, looking almost… lost. Scared. 

“That's what everyone says,” he eventually said. “I don’t… I don’t believe in all that stuff.” 

They walked around for a while after that, and Tony almost felt guilty. This kid had a shitty life once his mother died. So far, all Tony had done for Peter is get his aunt put in a coma and then go missing. 

He ended up talking to Wade about it, telling the kid about Peter, about how he had messed up so, so much already. Wade didn’t seem to mind listening, and even gave him encouraging word. 

“You’re at least trying,” Wade had told him, grinning. 

Tony had stared, then quickly pretended the conversation never happened. “Where were we? The guy who died...relatives? Mom? Mrs. Davis, where is she?”

“Where she always is.”

“See, now you're being helpful.”

They walk down the street, heading towards a bar. It looked like shit, and Tony wondered if Wade’s dead beat dad was inside to. Tony wouldn’t mind giving that guy a piece of his mind. Meaning his fist, of course. 

Before he contemplate violence to much, he bumped into a woman, causing her to drop something. When he picked it up, holding it out to her. He noticed the burns on her face. Once she had it back, she turned and walked off, so Tony went off into the bar, Wade pointing out where Mrs. Davis was sitting. 

“Mrs. Davis,” Tony said, though the woman didn’t look up from her drink. “Mind if I join you?” 

“Free country,” was her only response as she drank a bit more. 

“It sure is,” he said as he sat down. 

“Alright,” she said as she looked up. “Where’d you like to start? 

“I just want to say I'm sorry about your loss. I want to know what you think happened.”

The look she gave him could kill. “Look, I brought your damn file. You take it and go.” She dropped a folder in front of him. “Whatever was in here, he wanted no part of it.”

“Clearly, you're waiting for someone else. Yeah? Supposed to meet somebody here?” 

“Yeah.”

Tony turned his attention to the file, opening it up. There were a few photos of Chad Davis, but one thing did catch his eye. At the lop corner of Chad Davis’ medical report was MIA. Why it was put there or what it meant, Tony had no clue. As far as he knew, Davis had never gone missing in action. There was another picture though, of a man that must have served with Davis. Jack Taggart. He had been at the Chinese Theatre when it exploded on Happy and May. 

“Mrs. Davis,” Tony said as he closed the file, “your son didn't kill himself, I guarantee you. He didn't kill anyone. Someone used him.”

“What?” she asked, voice wavering as she looked just about ready to cry. 

“As a weapon,” Tony said, and she instantly grew stern, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You're not the person who called me after all, are you?” 

A phone was then slapped down on the table, right in front of them, making Mrs. Davis jump, and both of them to look up. It was the woman he had bumped into outside. She was no longer in a waitress outfit, but, rather, a suit.. Tony had a terrible feeling about this… 

“Actually,” she said, smiling. “I am.” 

Suddenly, she gabbed his arm, twisting it and slamming him onto the table. Carefully, he grabbed Davis’ dog tags, slipping them into his coat as the woman argued with the sheriff and handcuffed him. She shoved him onto the floor, and Tony nodded at Mrs. Davis to hide the file. He watched as she tossed it under the benches, and Tony whipped his head around as the sheriff screamed. 

The woman had heated the badge in her hand and pressed it into the sheriff's face, and taken his gun. She shot him as Tony scrambled to his feet, patrons of the bar screaming and running around him as he fled from the bar. 

“Hey hot wings,” Tony said as she turned to look at him, “you wanna party? You and me, let's go.”

Turning, he noticed a bald man stepping out of a car. The man pulled out his own gun, aiming for Tony as he stood frozen. No one had pointed a gun at him while out of the suit since… Well, before the suit! 

Thankfully, or not thankfully depending on if you asked a responsible adult, Wade threw a snowball at the back of the man’s head, just before he shot, making him miss. Tony gave the kid a look, but he turned and ran before he could see what happened, ducking behind a car. A shopper was already hiding there. 

“Crazy, huh?”

“Yeah,” the shopper said, looking rather frightened. Tony couldn’t blame him. 

With a glance over his shoulder, spotting the fake Homeland Security woman finally coming out of the bar, Tony gave the shopper his best confidant look. “Watch this.” 

And with that, he ran and slammed through a dinner window, landing in the glass shards with a grunt. Groaning, Tony managed to roll to his feet from laying on his back, his cuffed hands now in front of him. Fake Agent was waiting for him, a shotgun pointed at his face. A quick dive over the counter, and he was to temporary safety as she shot over his head. 

And by temporary, it seemed like only a few seconds, as he turned, finding the woman right there. She pulled him to his feet, pushing him against the wall before landing a hard punch to his face. As he staggered, she managed to somehow get in front of him, use his own hands to punch him in testicales, then flipped on his back. 

As he continued to struggle to get the upper hand, Tony realised, as he had her pinned with the cuffs used as a choker, that she was playing with him. She grinned and laughed, the skin of her neck heating up and melting the handcuffs. They snapped easily, Tony stumbling back as he tried to shake the red hot metal off of his hands. The broken cuffs landed on the floor, beginning to melt into a pool of flaming liquid steel and aluminum. 

Looking to his left, however, Tony got an idea. There was some kind of oil, or maybe a container of fryer grease, but Tony knew it would do the trick. Sliding it across the floor, the oil or grease spilled along the tile, and with a quick kick, Tony sent one of the handcuff pieces sliding into the spill, igniting it in an instant. 

Quickly, but not nearly as careful as Steve or Jarvis probably would have liked, Tony stuffed Chad Davis’ dog tags into the microwave, setting the time and starting it as the fire lady stepped into the back.

“You walked right into this one,” Tony says as he moved to where a gas pipe is. “I've dated hotter chicks than you.”

“That's all you got?” she asked, rather snottily. “Cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t like that tone, but that could be the name of my autobiography.” 

And with that, Tony ducked out of the dinner, running as fast as he could through the back door. Hiding behind a cooler, Tony listened to the building explode, his ears ringing as he got up, turning to walk away, people screaming loudly around him. 

That had been fun, but he was ready to go back to the barn with Wade and check in on the suit. Only, Tony couldn’t spot the kid anywhere. There was a loud metallic snapping sound behind him, and Tony looked to see the water tower tilting and leaning. He made a bolt for it, only to get stopped by a fence, and water soon comes rushing at him. 

For a second, he nearly blacks out, his vision tunneling until he could only see specks of stars in the sky. When his vision returned, he was on his back, leg pinned in a pile of rubbish. Tony quickly tired to push the metal off his leg, only to jerk his head up again as he heard Wade’s voice. 

“Let me go!” the boy shouted, struggling in the bald man's arms. 

“Help me! Help me!” the man mocked, sitting down and holding Wade so he sat on his lap. “Hey kid, what would you like for Christmas?”

“Mr. Stark,” Wade said, sounding truly apologetic, “I am so sorry!”

“No, no, no. I think he was trying to say, ‘I want my goddamn file’.” 

“Not your fault, kid,” Tony said, heart beating fast, eyes glued to the still struggling boy, and the red pusing hand holding him to the mad man's chest. “Remember what I told you about bullies?” 

Hoping to god—to Thor, to Zeus, Buddah, Ala, anything!—that this wouldn’t get the kid killed, that he didn’t have to see a boy so close to Peter’s age killed before his very eyes, Tony gave Wade the smallest of nods. For a second, Tony thought he didn’t as Wade stared at him in slight confusion, the bald man’s glowing red eyes watching him in confused impatience. But Wade pulled out the little taser, pressing it into the man’s face. It flashed, blindingly bright, as is stunned and knocked the man back, letting Wade run off to safety. 

“You like that, Westworld?” Tony taunted, heart still racing, but a little slower now. His makeshift repulser was ready to fire. “That’s the thing about smart guys—we always cover our ass.” 

Lifting his hand, Tony shot a man, sending him flying. For a second, he could only sit there, surprised that it had worked. Then a sharp pain hit his palm, and he hissed in a mix of irritation and pain as he flung sizzling piece to the side. Using a wood beam as a lever, Tony pushed up the metal piece on his leg, and managed to squirm out, moving to find the man's key before going to look for Wade and grab that file. 

“You’re welcome,” Wade said with a grin, walking up to him with his cowboy hat on his head. 

“For what?” Tony asked as he moved to walk into the bar, coming back out in an instant with the file. “Did I miss something?” 

“Me,” Wade said, hitting him on the arm, very lightly. “Saving your life!” 

“Yeah,” Tony said with a from, looking for the bald man’s car. “A, I saved you first. B, thanks. Sort of. And C, if you do someone a solid, don’t be a yutz. All right? Just play it cool. Otherwise you come off grandiose.” 

“Unlike you?” Wade said as they reached the car, Tony opening it up. “Admit it, you need me. We’re connected.” 

“What I need is for you to get in the car so I can take you home,” Tony said, taking the cowboy hat off Wade’s head. “Hurry up.” 

Wade pouted, going around the car to get into the passenger seat, and Tony made his first decision as a responsible adult in charge of a child's safety. With a look that Tony hoped was stern, Wade groaned and got into the back seat as Tony sat down in the drivers.

Once they were rolling, Wade buckled and everything, Tony glanced at him in the rear view mirror, feeling a little guilt. 

“I have a son, you know,” Tony said before he even realized what he was saying. 

“You have a son?” Wade asked in wonder. 

“I have to start being a parent as soon as I get this whole thing under control and… I need to get used to it now. I have to do this right, be a good parent. I mean, I already fucked up royally, since I met him, what, two days ago? And he’s already four. His aunt is probably dying because of this shit and… God, I have to do this right but I’m already fucking up.” 

For a moment, Wade said nothing, just looking at this hands as Tony drove. It was weird, not hearing the kid speak. It seemed like a common thing with this kid. He was going to have a real mouth when he gets older. But, just before they reached the barn, Wade spoke up again. 

“What’s his name?” 

“Peter,” Tony said, turning to pull into the driveway. “He’s… He’s great. You might get to meet him some day. If you're ever in New York, I mean. He’s staying with Captain America in Malibu right now, though, so I probably won't see him for a while.” 

As he stopped the car, parking it for a second to let Wade out, he turned and leaned over to look at Wade through the passenger window. 

“Guard the suit and connect it to the telephone so if I call, you better pick up. Okay?” 

“Okay,” Wade said, still looking a little disappointed as he stepped away from the car. 

Tony sighed, turning to watch the road as he pulled out, and turn to head towards his first first stop. He sped down the road in a hurry, just over the speed limit. He was looking through the file, trying to find more clues when he finally say it. It wasn’t MIA at the top of that paper. It was AIM. 

He called Rhodey, somewhat bored as he continued down the road. 

“Hello?” Rhodey said, sounding somewhat surprised. 

“You ever have a chick straddling you and you look up and suddenly she’s glowing from the inside out, kind of a bright orange?” 

“Yeah, I’ve had that,” he said sarcastically in his Rhodey way. “Who is this?” 

“It’s me pal. Now, last time I went missing, if I remember correctly, you came looking for me. What are you doing?” 

“A little knock-and-talk, making friends in Pakistan. What are you doing?” 

“You’re redesign, your big rebrand, that was AIM, right?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m gonna find a heavy-duty comm sat right now, I need your login.” 

“Same as it’s always been, ‘WarMachine68’.” 

“And password please.” 

“Well, look, I gotta change it every time you hack in, Tony.” 

“It’s not the ‘80’s, nobody says ‘hack’ any more. Give me your login so I get get this over with and go home to apologize to my son.” 

There was a pause, then followed by a guilty sigh. “‘WAR MACHINE ROX’ with an X and all caps.” There was soft laughter in the background, followed by the click of one of the big guns. 

Tony couldn’t help it, he bust out laughing. He could just imagine the looks on those Pakistanis faces. Hell, Peter would love it to. “That is so much better then ‘Iron Patriot’.” He hung up and jerked the wheel, turning the car around to head back towards a news van he saw a few minutes before. 

Once he had parked, he went inside a van, and had a very awkward meeting with someone who may or may not be a stalker. He saw videos of Killian’s experiments, and what it did to people. There was an even more awkward goodbye with his very-extremely-likely-stalker-Gary, and then he was on the road again. 

He called Wade on the way, and then had the kid eat a lot of candy to make up for being responsible. They got Jarvis booted up, and apparently the AI was having trouble saying the right cranberry at the end of a sentence. I mean word… There was a little charging scare, where Wade hadn’t known if it had been charging, and Tony had to pull over to breath. Then, Wade gave him a great idea and he went to the hardware store. 

Once he was one his way, he snuck into a mansion and shot some people, blew some stuff up, and electrocuted a few others. Then had another awkward encounter with the fake Mandarin. He’s an actor, apparently. And Killian was behind everything. 

Then he got knocked out by the bald guy that should have been dead. He eventually woke up without his backpack of attack goodies zip tied to a bed frame. Maya was there, and they had a very angry conversation. He wasn’t sure if he should be more angry at Maya for not letting him go, or at Killian for being the mastermind. 

“I’m here to thank you,” Killian said as he set down a briefcase, then moved to stand in front of Tony. “You gave me the greatest gift that anybody’s ever given me. Desperation.” 

Then he started monologuing. It was rather boring. He told Tony practically everything: his almost-suicide, hiring the actor Trevor, then a mention of Thor, and boy was that low… But then, Killian show him something that made Tony’s blood run cold, and his heart nearly stop. 

It was Steve and Peter with… Natasha? They were all dressed in civilian clothes, and if Tony’s heart hadn’t lurched at the site of his soulmate, Tony might not have recognized Steve. He was dressed like one of those… what were they called? Steve was dressed like a hipster, with Peter as a mini hipster next to him. They were walking through a mall, Steve with his clearly nervous, terrible spy facade, Natasha as professional as ever, and Peter maybe a little bit too good at pretending he wasn’t in trouble. Where they investegating AIM to? Or… was it something else? 

“Desperation,” Killian said, smirking a little. “Now, this is from a few hours ago, but I can assure you, my men are following both Captain Rogers and your son very closely and very carefully. Within the next hour or so, when the Captain and the Agent go do whatever it is that they need to do, my men will take the boy and inject him with the EXTREMIS. And if that isn’t enough drive for you, I already have Miss Potts injected with it.” 

Tony was mentally starting to slam at the wall, trying to pick it away as he watched in horror as Killian shot Maya, and left. Two guards took Killian’s place, but Tony didn’t pay attention. He slammed into the wall over and over, trying to take it down, fast, screaming over the link. 

Finally, it came down, and he could practically hear himself screaming his mental words aloud as he finally was able to speak over the bond. 

_ Run! Take Peter! Hide! They’re coming for you!  _

There was a wave of shock over the bond as Steve received his message, but Tony could tell that it was too late. Something happened. He caught mental snapshots of a strange computer, a grate, Natasha in a hole, then falling rocks. For a minute, nothing came back, Tony worrying for a second that Steve might have actually died. But he could feel his soulmate over the bond, and felt Steve’s despair when he finally made it back to wherever he had left Peter. 

His son was gone. 

Tony felt his anger boil, his rage increasing to heights he had never felt before. The watch began to beep, and Tony felt a sick satisfaction rollover him.

He had some anger to let out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! Both our boys know who they're dealing with now... I decided to make the sequel, which is why I replaced Harley Keener with Wade Wilson. It will be important later.


	12. Final Battles, Old Friends, And Overdue Reuinions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Natasha get Sam's help to take down Hydra, but run into an old friend, who happens to be Natasha's soulmate.   
> Meanwhile, Tony is beating up Mandarin bad guys and saving Peter and Pepper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't make the two separate chapters long enough to stand on their own, so I combined them. The Epilogue is also... very short, so I'm posting this one a day early so the Epilogue will be posted tomorrow and the story will end. I hope you all enjoy.

Steve was very disappointed in himself. He hadn’t quite done enough to prevent this from happening, and he knew that. He also knew that Tony might never really forgive him. The rage that thundered through the bond on Tony’s side was deafening, and Steve wasn’t sure what would be worse… Peter coming back not trusting him, or Tony being mad at him for the rest of his life.

But for now, they didn’t have time for that. They had to get to safety, away from the wrecked building, and away from Hydra. And Steve knew the perfect place to go. 

They sat in a car for a while as Natasha drove, Steve sitting in the passenger seat, trying to communicate his apology to Tony through the bond. Tony wasn’t listening though. The bond was still open, no wall, but Tony was actively ignoring him. 

_ I know I messed up bad,  _ Steve said as he put his head in his hands, trying his best to keep calm.  _ But I’ll fix it. I’ll get him back and I’ll stop Hydra.  _

That seemed to get Tony’s attention. 

_ Hydra?  _ Tony asked, sounding more then surprised.  _ No offense, Cap, but I’m pretty sure the guy who had me zip tied to a bed was AIM, not Hydra.  _

_ Zip tied…? What on earth are you doing?  _

_ Uh… Definitely not beating the shit out of people? _

_ You know, you don’t sound very convincing, Tony.  _

_ Yeah, well, these assholes kind of kidnapped my son, and almost killed an innocent kid!  _ There was a pause. _ And… stole Rhodey?  _

_ Colonel Rhodes? But I thought he was dealing with the Mandarin in- _

“Steve?” 

He nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of Natasha’s voice, drawing him from his connection. She was looking at him expectantly, though Steve barely knew where they were. Of course, he had an idea, and knew where to go, but he wasn’t sure exactly where. They ended up following Sam back to his house while the man was running.

Stepping up to the door, Steve gave it three careful knocks, trying to multitask between talking to Tony and focusing on the mission. It was difficult, as he had missed being connected to Tony, but Tony seemed rather… busy and Steve didn’t want to bother him to much.

“Hey, man,” Sam said when the door opened. 

“I'm sorry about this,” Steve said with his best apologetic smile. “We need a place to lay low.”

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” Natasha added, looking at Sam critically. 

Thankfully, Sam stepped to the side, looking rather serious. “Not everyone. I’m about to make breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing.” 

Steve smiled, heading inside with a thankful nod. They explained everything that they knew to Sam as he cooked, and Sam told Sam about Peter, and about his reopened link with Tony. Sam served them their breakfast, placing a file on the table. 

“What’s this?” Steve asked, opening it. 

“Call it a resume.” 

They looked it over, finding Sam to be more then fit to help. 

“I can't ask you to do this, Sam,” Steve said as he closed the file. “You got out for a good reason.”

“Dude, Captain America needs my help,” Sam returned with a grin. “There's no better reason to get back in, even if I’m no Iron Man.” 

Thinking it over, Steve sent a few images of the gear to Tony, wondering with his bonded thought. While the response was long and well worded, the main thing that got across was that Sam would be ‘good to have’ and that Tony would make them ‘way better’ later. 

So, they set out to Fort Meade to break into the facility to steal it. They then integrate Jasper Sitwell, throwing him off the roof a time or two before they move on to go to the Triskelion and the other helicarriers. They had 16 hours. As long as they didn’t get interrupted on the drive and everything went almost perfect with a small margin of error, they would be fine. 

And, of course, the Winter Soldier decides that that point was the best time to land on the car's roof. The assassin pulled Sitwell out through the window, throwing him into the oncoming traffic. The man died almost instantly, but Steve was more distracted by the the Soldier shooting at them. 

Reaching passed Sam, Steve pulled the brake handle, sending the soldier flying into the street. A car smashed into their back bumper, causing their car to lurch forward as the Winter Soldier got up. In an instant, the metal fist slammed through the windshield, grasping the steering wheel, and pulled it out, 

“Shit!” Sam cried, the car swerving off the road as Natasha started to shoot at the Soldier.

“Hold on,” Steve called.

Kicking out the door, Steve pulled Sam and Natasha with him, sitting on it as they slid down the road. It was almost like sledding! A strange kind of sledding where people were shooting at each other, but that wasn’t the point. 

_ Why are you sledding and getting shot at?  _ Tony asked him in his mind. 

_ Ran into bad guy, _ Steve sent quickly back, splitting off from Sam and Natasha, Hydra agents chasing after them.  _ Don’t have time to talk!  _

_ You’re having fun with this,  _ Tony said, though Steve could tell that the man was grinning.  _ You’re such an adrenaline junky.  _

_ I am not!  _ Steve retorted, but he was grinning, running and ducking out of the way of Hydra goon shots, and running to go help Natasha. She looked rather startled, laying in the ground after she had been thrown from his back.  _ Besides, you’re one to talk, with your… What are you doing?  _

_ Skydiving out of a blown up plane to save some people before going after the Mandarin.  _

With a small chuckle, Steve jumps in and attacks the Winter Soldier, who looked less… predatory and more… cornered animal. Natasha was struggling with something, gritting her teeth behind him as she looked back and forth between Steve and the Soldier. They fought on, the Soldier’s attacks seeming more defensive than offensive, seeming almost distracted. 

And just as Steve manages to land a solid punch on the Soldier, Natasha gasps, jumping to her feet as the Soldiers mask comes off. As the Soldier turned, fist raising to punch, Natasha got between then, blocking the Soldier from view. 

“Нет!” she cried. “Не больно!”

Steve froze, shoulders tense as he tried to figure out what to do. What was Natasha doing? But it seemed like everyone else was frozen to. The Soldier stopped, fist still raised, but as if processing what was happening. 

“Он является моя миссия,” the Soldier said, fist clenching. “Я должен убить его. Почему вы меня остановить? Ты кто?”

“Я свою вторую половинку. И вы не не, кто вы думаете, что вы находитесь. Я могу видеть это в вашем уме, я могу тянуть все вперед, если вы только позвольте мне, Джеймс!” 

“Кто такой Джеймс?” 

Natasha reached out, touching the Soldiers face, making him tense. “Вы находитесь. И я могу показать вам, если вы только позвольте мне.” 

“Вы…” 

Whatever was happening between the two, it was interrupted as Rumlow came running, gun raised to shoot at Natasha. He did fire his gun, though the Soldier moved to block her, and Steve finally caught sight of his face. 

“Bucky?” 

_ Bucky?!  _ Tony gasped over the bond.

The Soldier glared at him, seeming very, very, agitated. “Who the hell is-?!” 

“Asset!” Rumlow shouted, Bucky growing tense, his eyes seeming to grow distant, like he was a machine. “Grab her!” 

Steve watched in horror as Bucky grabbed hold of Natasha, twisting her arms behind her with his metal hand, though it did not seem like she was in any sort of pain. Rumlow quickly turned, pointing his gun at Steve with no trouble. 

“Drop the shield, Captain! On your knees!” Rumlow shouted, Steve carefully raising his hands into the air. With a swift kick, he was forced to his knees, and they were all soon transferred to a van. Natasha tried to talk to Bucky, saying things that must have been in Russian, but Bucky didn’t respond. 

They were forced to sit, hands cuffed together behind their backs. Steve could hear Tony laughing, and images of fire and a strange glowing woman entered his mind. Huh, seems Tony had an eventful night… 

“It was him,” Steve said as he looked at Natasha. “He looked right at me and he didn't even know me…” 

“How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago,” Sam said, then turned to Natasha. “And what was that with the Russian?” 

“I’m not sure about the Russian, but Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on 'em. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him.”

“None of that's your fault, Steve,” Natasha said, shaking her head. “But… I’m glad that you didn’t find him. I just.. Steve, I  _ bonded  _ with him.” 

Their guards looked at her sharply, clearly intrigued by the conversation at this point. One guard looked about ready to speak, only for the other to suddenly pull out an electric rod, knocking him out. The guard pulled off their helmet, revealing Maria Hill. 

“That thing was squeezing my brain,” she said as she frowned, turning to look at Sam. “Who’s this?” 

Steve shook his head, sighing slightly. They didn’t have time for this. Rumlow would come back quickly. And with that, they were on their way, disappearing through tunnels. They walked on and on, Maria not saying much as they found their way to a very alive Nick Fury.

“About damn time,” the director said unhappily. “Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache.”

“Don't forget your collapsed lung,” the doctor adds, looking rather displeased. 

“Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good.”

“They cut you open,” Natasha said, still trying to get her bearings. That bonding had taken a lot from her. “Your heart stopped.”

“Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it.”

“Why all the secrecy?” Steve asked, though he swore he heard Tony sing-song into his ear in an I-told-you-so voice.  _ He’s the ultimate spy. His secrets have secrets. _ “Why not just tell us?”

“Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful,” Hill told them, standing by the directors bed at parade rest. She seemed more like a guard dog then a loyal subordinate. Steve couldn’t blame the doctors of being wary of her. 

Suddenly, Natasha doubled over, crying out as she gripped her head. She looked so in pain, that Steve knew only one time he felt pain like that, on the day Antonio and Bucky fell. Something was happening to Bucky, something having to do with his mind or his life. 

“What the hell is going on?” Fury shouted as Natasha started to ramble in Russian.

“Любовь,” Natasha gasped out, “вы должны сопротивляться. Вы не можете позволить им победить. Бороться за меня, пожалуйста, oh пожалуйста любовь. Бороться, бежать от них!”

“Hill!” Fury shouted. 

“She’s asking someone to fight,” Hill said in a quick translate. “Calling them love, and telling them to fight.” 

Steve rushed forward, placing a hand on Natasha’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but she looked up at him all the same. Soon, she was simply shivering, standing there as if the room wasn’t nearly ninety degrees. 

They looked at each other, and Steve knew that Bucky wasn’t dead. No, this was something else. Something cold, and feelingless. But he wouldn’t ask her to elaborate. He knew it would be painful… 

_ It must have been painful for you,  _ Tony sent to him.  _ I’m sorry you lost- _

_ I didn’t just lose someone that day, _ Steve sent back.  _ I got another chance. _

“What the hell is going on?” Fury growled out, glaring at them. 

“It was personal,” Natasha said, taking deep breaths. “We need to focus, and stop the launch.”

“I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore.” Hill hands him a case, and Fury opens it, turning it to them to reveal three strange… green things.

_ They aren’t green things, Steve,  _ Tony told him with a sigh.  _ Listen, I probably should have brought this up earlier, but those are... _

“What are they?” Sam asked.

“Special chips that will make the Helicarriers inefficient,” Steve said, speaking at the same time Tony thought. “You replace the targeting blades with them, but it has to be all three, otherwise they won't go down.” 

“Whoa man, how did you-?” 

“Tony made them,” he explained quickly, trying to speak and listen to Tony at the same time. “Fury asked him to make the two extra helicarriers for him before what happened in New York. Insight had been incorporated, and Tony added the chips so that if anyone managed to hack-”

_ It’s not the ‘80’s, nobody says ‘hack’ any more.  _

“-into the Helicarriers defenses, then SHIELD would have a quick way to stop damage from spreading.” 

Fury gave a nod, eyes sharp and dark, studying him as he spoke. “We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left…”

“We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD.”

“SHIELD had nothing to do with it,” Fury said with a scowl. 

“You gave me this mission,” Steve reminds, crossing his arms. “And this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised. You've said so yourself. HYDRA was right under your nose and nobody noticed.”

“Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed.”

“And how many paid the price before you did?”

“Look, I didn't know about Barnes.”

“I’m not talking about Bucky!” Steve cried, his fists tight into balls, his nails digging into his skin. “I’m talking about a little boy who was dragged into this because you didn’t notice soon enough! Tony’s son was kidnapped right from under my nose because you couldn’t find the rats hidden with the mice. He’s four years old, Fury! Four! And where is he now?” 

_ Off the coast, actually, _ Tony told him, giving him reassurance.  _ I’m about to take out the Mandarin and save him and Pepper, so I might be late to the party but I should eventually be there. Also, I’ll say high to the president for you. _

_ The president? What on earth are you doing? _

_ Stuff,  _ Tony said dismissively,  _ but I have to maybe go radio silent for a while? Anyway, see you later, Steve~  _

And with that, Tony faded to the back of his mind, so he pushed on. 

“SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.” 

For a moment, there was a tense silence, but Steve could tell that Natasha agreed with him. And much to everyone’s surprise, so did Maria. 

“He's right,” she said, nodding her head, turning to Fury. 

“Well,” the director said with a sigh. “Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.”

They take some time to recover after that, getting ready to head out. 

Natasha went to sit somewhere, trying to talk to Bucky, but she got no response. Steve could tell that it was hard on her. She had apparently though she would never meet him, much less bond with him. She’d probably scold him for the scar on her stomach later. 

Steve, however, spent his time sitting on the bridge, thinking about what he would do when it was all over. Would he go back to Malibu with Tony and Peter? Of would they all return to New York? Then there was Bucky to think about… His best friend, back from the dead. And bonded to one of his teammates! Who woulda thought? 

After a while, Same came to him and they stole his old uniform from the Smithsonian. True, he loved the one Phil had made him, and it had fit so well, but there was nothing like his old uniform… Tony would probably make him one like it if he asked, but he would wait. 

They set out after that, going to the Insight Headquarters to do their thing. It was almost too easy to sneak in and take over their intercom. After a little speech by Steve about how SHIELD was really Hydra, he and Sam hurried off to get to the targeting room. There was a small skirmish on the way, nothing that they couldn’t handle. 

At the eight minute marker, Steve and Sam had gotten chips Alpha and Bravo set into place, with Sam flying him to the last helicarrier. Almost as soon as he landed, Bucky appeared, pushing him off the edge. 

“Steve!” Sam cried, making an attempt to dive down and get him, but Bucky grabbed one of his wings and threw him back. 

Steve managed to grab hold of the side of the Helicarrier, listening to the fighting going on above as he pulled himself up. With quick words to Natasha, he told her she needed to try and calm Bucky down, get him to remember, come back to his senses. 

As he pulls himself up, Sam tells him that he’s unable to come help him. Steve continued on into the Helicarrier, knowing that Bucky was watching him, waiting for him somewhere. He continued on, not sure what else he could do. He couldn’t help Bucky right now, only Natasha could. For now, he had to focus on his mission. 

Further inside, Bucky finally appeared before him, standing at the end of a walk way. He didn’t say anything, but he looked rather agitated. Steve could think of a few reasons why. 

“People are gonna die, Buck,” Steve said, trying to maybe, just maybe, get through to him. “I can’t let that happen, and neither can Natasha.” 

For a second, Steve swore he saw Bucky wince at Natasha’s name, but as fast as it arrived, it was gone. He had no other choice, and threw his shield. Bucky deflected it, sending it back to Steve as he rushed forward. Bucky shot at him, though it did nothing to penetrate the shield, and Steve pushed Bucky back until they were at the end of the catwalk. 

Bucky had found a weak point in his stance, however, and managed to shoot his side. Gritting his teeth, Steve thrusted the shield out, sending Bucky flying back; though, he did get up rather quickly, a knife in hand. They exchanged a series of punches and kicks, before he was able to make it to the console to bring up the targeting blades. Bucky, however, didn’t seem to like his success, and tried to toss him to the side. 

They throw punches and kicks once again, falling over the side of the railing. The chip falls from Steve’s hand, but he was quick to retrieve it. Not that it mattered, since Bucky knocked from his hand and further down. He kicked Bucky off the platform, and Steve was quick to jump after it. 

As soon a he landed on his feet, Steve took off running for the chip, only to get his own shield thrown at his back. As he got up, he saw Bucky pointing a gun at him again, and he kicked up his shield to block the bullets the zipped towards him. Giving it his best, quick aim throw, Steve launched the shield towards Bucky’s chest, only to watch as Bucky literally punched it out of the air. 

_ Good moves for a man who’s been in and out of sleep for the last seventy years,  _ Tony hummed in the back of his mind.  _ I’ve finished up, I’ll be there in a few.  _

_ Peter safe?  _ Steve asked, as he got stabbed in the shoulder. 

_ He’s fine,  _ Tony told him,  _ Just focus. ETA about five minutes.  _

And focus he did. He struggled with Bucky for a moment, before finally strangling him into unconsciousness. Grabbing the chip, he did a few flips up to the top, Maria shouting the count down in his ear as heard the bang of a gun, and a flaring pain in his thigh. Turning, he saw Bucky, gun up, ready to fire again. 

“If you stop me,” Steve called back to him, “Natasha will die!” 

That seemed to be just enough incentive for him, and he re-aimed, shooting at the spots around Steve but never at him. At the last second, Steve pulls out the chip, placing it in the slot. Panting heavily, he gave the order for Maria to fire. 

He heard Bucky cry out in pain behind him, and he gave a silent apology to Tony as he tried to run after him, his leg to leak from the shot to his thigh to really run. He managed to lift the fallen beam off of Bucky, letting him worm his way out before he dropped it again. 

Taking deep, pained breaths, Steve looked at Bucky, hoping and pleading that he would remember. 

“You know me,” he said insistently. 

In an instant, Bucky screamed, punching him in the face. “No I don’t!” 

Getting up, Steve tried to breath, his lungs hurting, and his leg covered in sticky blood. 

“Bucky,” Steve tried again, “you’ve known me your whole life.” 

He got another smack for his trouble, and they wrestled again. Steve tried, tried so hard, but it didn’t work. Bucky had him pinned, beating him with a metal fist as he shouted. Steve was Bucky’s mission. He was supposed to be killed by Bucky… A beam fell, destroying the floor below them, and they fell, down towards the water, Steve only thinking one thing. 

_ Sorry Tony. Guess I messed up… _

XxXXxXxXXxX

Tony was more than pleased when he heard the beeping coming from the watch. He would get to kick the men's asses, and maybe murder Killian while he was at it. Quickly realizing that he might not be kidding about that, Tony pushed the reopened bond to the back of his mind, watching his guards. 

“Careful, there,” Tony said as one of the men picked it up. “It’s limited edition.” He was ignored, so, he turned to the man with the ponytail. “Hey, Ponytail Express. What’s the mileage count between Tennessee and Miami?” 

“832 miles,” the man said, rather quickly. When the other guard looked at him strangely, he smirked. “I’m good like that.” 

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. God, they were all idiots… However, the one with less hair looked ever dumber then Ponytail, and dropped the beeping watch to the ground. 

“Break it, you bought it,” Tony warned, hoping to maybe stop the man. Even if Wade didn’t like it, it was still a gift from his father. 

His words did not deter the man, however, and he watched as the watched was stomped on. 

“I think I bought it.” 

“Okay,” Tony says calmly, maybe a bit to calmly. “That wasn’t mine to give away. That belonged to a friend of mine. And that’s why I’m gonna kill you first.” 

“What are you gonna do to me?” 

“You’ll see.” 

“You’re zip-tied to a bed.” 

Turning his hands, sending out the pulse for the armor, Tony waited. Only, nothing happened. THe guards waited, and Tony tried again. Still nothing. Had Wade closed the garage door or something? 

“Trust me, you’re gonna be a puddle of blood on the ground in five, four, three… Come on! Two!” 

The two looked at eachother, then down at their own watched. Ponytail looked exasperated and completely done with him. 

“How did we get this shift?” he asked, the other shrugging. 

“Alright,” Tony said, taking a deep breath. Where the hell was that fucking suit? And god damn it Steve, he’s trying to work! Stop talking! “I’m gonna give you a chance to escape. Put down your weapons, tie yourselves to those chairs. I’ll let you live.” 

The guards only sighed, now humoring him by fake gasping when he said bang. Tony started to ramble, getting agitated and pissed. What the hell was Wade doing? Had the boy tried to take the suit apart or something? 

That’s when he started to tune into what Steve was saying over the bond. 

_ But I’ll fix it,  _ Steve was saying. _ I’ll get him back and I’ll stop Hydra. _

That really got his attention. 

_ Hydra?  _ Tony asked, more than surprised.  _ No offense, Cap, but I’m pretty sure the guy who had me zip tied to a bed was AIM, not Hydra.  _

Just then, as Tony made an aggressive count down, one of his gauntlets came crashing through the window, bouncing off Ponytail’s head and onto his hand. Sending a quick blast to the other guys chest, or maybe his face, Tony found himself turned away from his guards and facing the wall. Using his now free right hand, he pulled the zip tie off his left, and turned to punch Ponytails face.

The metal thunk might have been a little to satisfying. 

They struggle for a moment, his left boot coming in and wrapping around his foot and calf, giving Tony the perfect opportunity to kick Ponytail in the sternum. He supposed he could live with leaving this guy with a cracked one. 

_ Zip tied…? _ Steve asked. _ What on earth are you doing?  _

For a moment, Tony wasn’t sure he should answer that. Holding Ponytails gun out, ready to shoot any more guards if need be. Glancing over his shoulder, he wondered where the hell the rest of the suit was.

The rest of the guards came quickly after that, guns at the ready as Tony used a repulsor shot to knock down the rail at the top of the stairs, and to cause quite a bit of ceiling to fall on the incoming guards.

_ Uh…  _ Tony thought back as he lifted himself into the air with his single boot.  _ Definitely not beating the shit out of people? _

He spun in a circle, trying to shoot and maneuver at the same time. He got one, so he would count it as a win for now. As he landed to the side, he fought on, knocking or shooting down man after man, until he had a half full gun and a repulsor aimed at the last man, who instantly held up his hands. 

“Honestly, I hate working here,” he said, dropping his gun. “They are so weird.” 

Tony gave him a wave with the gauntlet, and the man fled. 

Turning, he continued on down a hall, more of the suit coming at him as he headed outside.

_ You know,  _ Steve said,  _ you don’t sound very convincing, Tony.  _

_ Yeah, well, these assholes kind of kidnapped my son, and almost killed an innocent kid!  _ He told him, looking up at the Iron Patriot as it flew off. There was a scream as a guard was thrown over a railing, Rhodey jumping over it. Tony frowned, tilting his head. _ And… stole Rhodey? _

_ Colonel Rhodes? _ Steve asked. _ But I thought he was dealing with the Mandarin in- _

Tony didn’t hear the rest, knowing that he must have gotten busy. He went to meet with Rhodey, who gave him a less than pleased look. They continued on into the house, where Trevor was sleeping with a beer can in hand, snoring. 

They killed two guards, and then they had an extremely awkward meeting with Trevor. Tony wasn’t sure how the guy wasn’t dead yet, but they moved on out towards the coast, with Trevor’s ‘lovely speedboat’. They had a talk with the vice, and Tony went on to save the President. 

He didn’t find Rhodey’s suit, Killian, or the president, but after shooting a hole in the chest of the man who almost killed Wade, Tony did get a flash of one of Steve’s off hand thoughts. Sledding… and being shot. 

_ Why are you sledding and getting shot at?  _ Tony asked him, moving to the sitting area, where he could hear a woman screaming. He caught a glimpse of her as she was sucked out from the hole where the door should have been. 

_ Ran into bad guy, _ Steve sent quickly back, seeming to be in quite the hurry.  _ Don’t have time to talk!  _

_ You’re having fun with this,  _ Tony said, grinning as he jumped out the plane.  _ You’re such an adrenaline junky.  _

_ I am not!  _ Steve retorted, but Tony could tell he was grinning too.  _ Besides, you’re one to talk, with your… What are you doing?  _

Tony tried not to laugh, instructing the stewardess to grab onto a man, and shouting for the others to follow her lead. He had about six people hanging off him, by that point. Like monkeys in a barral.

_ Skydiving out of a blown up plane to save some people before going after the Mandarin. _

He could practically hear Steve laughing at him, because hey! They’ll be adrenaline junkies together. They stopped conversing for a moment as Tony finished gathering the rest of the monkeys. Well, the people, and dropped them in the water. With a sigh of relief, Tony was ready to turn the suit around and bring it back. 

However, a thought hit him through the bond as a truck hit the suit. 

“Bucky?!” he gasped aloud, drawing Rhodey’s attention. 

“What?” 

“Oh nothing,” Tony said nonchalantly. “Just Steve’s old bestie back from the dead and a brainwashed assassin.” 

For a second, it was clear that Rhodey wasn’t sure how to process that. Then, looking more then done with everything, he sighed. 

“Are we saving Pepper and my godson yet or what?” 

“Godson?” Tony snorts, glad that Rhodey was feeling confident enough to joke. “I never agreed to that!” 

“Whatever. Get your butt out here so we can get moving.” 

“Alright,” he called to his best friends back, then turning to speak into the headset connected to Jarvis. “Alright Jarvis, I say it’s about time.” 

“The House Party protocol, sir?” 

“Correct.” 

And with that, they were heading off to fight Killian on a Roxxon ship. It was a bit of a trip, and Tony got to crack jokes to Steve about Fury and his secrets. He also got to get some nice, warm fuzzies with Steve’s Rom-Com worthy line ‘I got another chance’. Not to mention, getting to find out that his disrupter chips would get to be put to good use with the end of shield. And shoot down the use of hack for the second time in about… 36 hours? 24? God, he needed another watch. 

Then he listened in on the rest of Steve’s conversation with Fury. He did, however, have to jump in when Steve brought up Peter.

_ Off the coast, actually, _ Tony told him, sending him reassurance.  _ I’m about to take out the Mandarin and save him and Pepper, so I might be late to the party but I should eventually be there. Also, I’ll say high to the president for you. _

_ The president? What on earth are you doing? _

_ Stuff,  _ Tony said dismissively,  _ but I have to maybe go radio silent for a while? Anyway, see you later, Steve~  _

And with that, Tony pushed the bond to the back of his mind again, spotting the ship.

They somehow managed to sneak on without getting caught, guns at the ready. The president strung up on an oil tanker, and they had a mini shoot out with a guard. Tony was a bit more then rusty, as he missed pretty much everything. God, he needed to start going to the range again. Maybe with Steve. And maybe with Peter when he was a little older. 

After a little argument with Rhodey on whether or not Tony could have another clip, before the suits arrived. He loved the flare, and mostly focused on directing until one of the suits landed beside him, opening up. In an instant, he was off, searching for Pepper and Peter. 

“Sir,” Jarvis said quickly, a dot lighting up on the corner of Tony’s radar. “I’ve located Miss Potts and Young Master Peter.” 

“Take me to them,” Tony said quickly, swerving to land at the hole in one of the towers. 

He walked inside, looking around as he light sparked. Hearing groaning, he leaned forward to find Pepper on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Peter wasn’t with her, and Tony worried that maybe… Maybe he was too late? 

But for the moment, he didn’t let that bother him, and instead began to lift the debris off of Pepper. She cried out in an instant, starting to cry. 

“See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?” Tony said, holding out a hand. 

She reached out for his hand, ready to get out, only for a glowing hand to burst out from the floor, clawing at the chest piece of the suit. Tony fell back, unable to move, as Killian crawled out of a hole. 

Killian climbed atop him, heating up his suit, and taunted him. 

“He was in here,” Killian said with a smirk. “You’re boy? He was in here when everything blew up. Probably dead under a pile of rubble. So close your eyes, and join him.” 

Tony stared up at him. 

“Close your eyes,” Killian said again, sounding irritated. 

When Tony didn’t, he raised his hand to slap him, or punch him, but Tony took the chance, and cut off Killian’s arm. It flew off towards Pepper, melting the floor. As Killian stumbled back, Tony was glad that he got to watch the man suffer. If he killed Peter, he deserved it. 

Killian, however, turned to him in anger as he got out of the suit. For a second, Tony stared, wide eyed, and unarmed, as Killian raised his hand to grab something. Only… he never got to take hold of something. 

From the shadows, like some kind of… spider monkey, came Peter, his clothes covered in dust and his knees scraped and bleeding. The four year old wrapped arm to wrap around Killian’s neck, and the other to holding onto a pointed part of glass, hand bleeding as he stabbed it into Killian’s shoulder. Letting out a cry, the glowing man reached behind him with his good hand, and pulled Peter off of him by the back of his torn coat. 

“You little brat,” Killian growled. 

Peter, like the child he was, gave Tony a heart attack by blowing a raspberry in Killian’s face. And Tony immediately had another when Killian threw him out of the hole in the wall. 

“No!” Tony screamed, running out onto the walkway. 

He saw Peter falling, falling, and then… 

“Young Master Peter is secure,” Jarvis said as a suit managed to catch the free falling boy. “Transporting to safety now, sir.” 

“Oh thank god,” Tony gasped, turning to run as fast as he could towards where Pepper was now dangling. “Jarvis, I need a suit!” 

“Dad?” Peter said over the line, sounding scared but giddy and excited. 

“Whoa,” Rhodey said, sounding surprised. “That him? Hi, Peter! I’m your uncle Rhodey! What? No, sorry, not you mister president. Just hold on. Tony, President is secure.” 

“Good for you Rhodes,” Tony said, almost to Pepper. “And yes, that’s Peter, who will be very grounded when we get back for  _ jumping onto the back of a flaming lunatic! _ ” 

“Sounds like something you did when you were four,” Rhodey said, making Peter giggle. 

“Jarvis, quite comms unless it’s an emergency.” 

Everything went silent, Tony able to breath now that Peter was safe and removed from the situation. He managed to get to Pepper, reaching out to her as the structure shook. It broke, and Pepper fell into the fire bellow. 

He entered a struggle with Killian, jumping from suit to suit, ending with a tense conversation where Killian was blown up inside the Mark 42. Tony slid down support beams, hung from a rail, but eventually ended up at the bottom, by where Pepper fell. 

Bits and pieces of the Prodigal Son fell around him. The helmet, however, was empty. Of course he didn’t have any luck. Of course Killian wasn’t fucking dead yet! He watched, actually scared, as Killian stepped towards him, screaming that he was the Mandarin all along. 

Only to get hit by a beam that was swung like a baseball bat. By Pepper. She stared at him, breathing hard, skin glowing, as he stared back. 

“I got nothing,” he eventually said, shaking his head. 

They had a rather tense conversation after Pepper demolished a suit and blew Killian up for good, and got a suit on Tony so he could take Pepper to where Peter was. As soon as he landed, Peter came running to him, wrapping his arms around his leg before he was even out of the suit. Pepper smiled, tense, looking at Tony. 

“He’s so adorable,” Pepper said, Peter holding on tighter to him. 

Tony, knowing he needed to go help Steve, went to one knee, placing a hand on Peter’s head. Once he had his son’s attention, he smiled, faceplate pulled back. 

“You’re safe now, alright?” he said, smoothing back Peter’s endless mess of brown hair, studying the cut on his forehead. “There’s one last thing I have to do before we can go home, so you’re going to stay here with Pepper-” 

“No!” Peter instantly cried, squeezing tightly onto his father. “No, you can’t leave! Bad things keep happening! Auntie May, Mr. Steve, Auntie Nat!” 

“Steve and Natasha are fine,” Tony said quickly. “But if I don’t go now, they might not be. Pepper is your… ‘Auntie’ as well, so stay with her, she’ll bring you to meet me in DC, and then we’ll go back to see Aunt May.” 

Slowly, Peter released his hold, letting Tony step back with the promise that they would see eachother soon. And off Tony went, to go help his soulmate save the world from Hydra. He had an odd sense of deja vu… 

Tuning into their soulmate radio, Tony caught a glimpse of Bucky literally punching Steve’s shield out of the air.

_ Good moves for a man who’s been in and out of sleep for the last seventy years,  _ Tony hummed to Steve.  _ I’ve finished up, I’ll be there in a few. _

_ Peter safe?  _ Steve asked.

_ He’s fine,  _ Tony told him,  _ Just focus. ETA about five minutes.  _

Tony didn’t mention the cuts and scrapes, the possibly years of therapy that Peter might have to go through. He didn’t mention that Pepper was now, technically, a mutant, or that he himself might have a concussion. He just sped his way to DC. 

Just as he caught sight of the helicarriers, two already crashed and in the water, the other cutting into a building, Tony heard Steve speak to him for what seemed like a very final way. 

_ Sorry Tony. Guess I messed up…  _

That’s when he caught sight of the body hitting the water, the Winter Soldier close behind.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick summery of what happened after Steve fell.

Steve woke to the the sound of a song he had never heard before, and a weight against his side. Turning his head to the left, he saw Tony asleep in a chair, a bruise forming around his left eye. He could see a few stitches where the doctors must have sown it shut, and a sling around Tony’s arm. Laying against his left side was Peter, also asleep, with a bandage on his forehead and a cast around his arm. 

Turning his head, Steve studied the rest of the room, finding Sam seated in a chair on his right. It was to good. He just had to to saw it. 

“On your left,” Steve said, smiling a bit. 

Sam looked up, smiled, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. He could see, how tired he was, but Sam looked good. No seeable injuries, not as bad as Tony looked. Or Peter for that matter. He would have to ask them what happened. 

“Stark caught you right before you hit the water,” Sam said as he nodded towards Tony. “Probably saved your ass from drowning.” 

“He was probably pretty livid.” 

“Still am,” came a drowsy voice, causing Steve to look towards Tony, who still had his eyes closed, though he was rubbing his face. “You’re an idiot.” 

Steve glanced at Sam, who looked about ready to burst out into laughter. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he was sure that he would have to ask later, when things weren’t so… off balance. 

A few nurses came in after that, doing some tests as Tony slowly came to. Peter had burst into tears when he was woken up, saying he was sorry. Steve had to assure him that what happened at the camp wasn’t his fault, and he was fine. Then Peter went on to tell him about what happened after he had been taken, most of it making Steve’s stomach roll. To think that Peter had been kidnapped by a fire breathing demon man? It was outrageous! But Tony nodded to show that it was all true, and Steve was half tempted to just go back to sleep. 

When he had finished with the his tests and inspections, Tony told him about Bucky. 

Tony had managed to catch both of them, even though he got his hurt arm when Bucky had struggled. After a quick stop to drop Bucky off at the DC SI building with Natasha, Tony had brought Steve to the hospital. Natasha was currently there, doing her best to calm Bucky. As far as Tony knew, it was working, if only a little. They’d go in to check on him once they had everything sorted. 

After Steve was let out of the hospital, he got to meet Pepper, who slapped him for worrying Tony, then hugged him for doing his best to protect Peter. She seemed nice, and Steve couldn’t blame her for being cross with him. He’d done quite a stupid stunt after all. 

They went back to Malibu to go see Happy and May, though they hadn’t heard from the hospital they had left the two at. Happy had been recovering quite nicely, though he was almost always on some kind of pain medication. May… had not. She passed just after seeing Peter safe outside her door. It had been stressful for everyone. 

With no other family to go to, Peter ended up living with Tony anyway, and after gathering up their things from the malibu house, they moved back to New York with Steve. Bucky had been moved to an extra Hulk room in the meantime, with the interior only accessible to Natasha and Tony. Steve went to visit every now and then, though he didn’t stay in the tower for long before moving into the house that Peter’s mother had left for him in Queens. They lived their most of the time, since they didn’t want to change Peter’s daycare. 

Tony had actually asked him to move in with them, so it was less of Steve following and more of Tony inviting. It was good, since they became a family more quickly they Steve would have thought. 

Peter started calling him Papa. 

And so time went on. 

The Stark Tower became Avengers Tower, with Clint moving in with his apparently hidden sister and niece and nephew. He was more at ease with them now, feeling better after his little… issue with Loki. He was a great man, though Steve would never understand why he kept crawling in the vents. 

Bruce was already staying there, but he stopped hiding from everyone else, and Thor decorated a room for himself and brought Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis. At first, no one had a problem with Darcy, as she was friends with Jane and stayed mostly with her. Then Clint seemed to just… recruit her or something, and the two ended up in the vents together more often than not. Steve hadn’t been able to figure it out until he found them ‘making out’ in one of the linen closets. 

Natasha stayed, of course, for Bucky. They eventually got him out of any possible control that had been over him, thanks to chips that Tony had found in the memory and reasoning sections of Bucky’s brain. They got it all out, and Tony had offered to make him a new arm, but Bucky had refused, as it was a reminder that he wasn’t normal. That he was dangerous. 

Sam moved in aswell, and they recruited a few more people along the way. Tony managed to come to a tense agreement with Hank Pym, who had a protegee for the Ant Man suit, and Rhodes split off from the Air Force to join them as a full time War Machine after he and his soulmate got married. After that, they started scouting for possible members, trainees, to start a sort of… Avengers Academy. 

Steve didn’t know much about the boy that Tony had met while hiding in Tennessee, but Tony had done his best to help the boy: new computer, better internet, a remodeled potato gun. He even introduced the boy, Wade, to Peter over a video chat when Tony was actually tutoring the eight year old. The two became fast friends, and started to video chat on their own. 

Within a year, Tony and Steve had both been prepared to ask each other to marry, and had both gotten the same idea. Set up a romantic dinner, and have Peter come in to bring in the ring about halfway through. Both had been very, very confused when Peter came in to hand them both rings, grinning like a loon as the others watched from a crack in the door. Or, in Clint and Darcy’s case, from the vent. 

They had married within three months, and went on vacation to a private island, where Steve got to try sky diving, fencing, and a wide variety of things. Tony was more than willing to set up a bit of competition between them, and they taught Peter together. 

Their marriage wasn’t always perfect, as none really are. They argued sometimes, though it always turned out right in the end. Tony wasn’t used to the small house in Queens, and Steve was still getting used to being in the twenty-first century. Peter was just getting used to having a dad, much less two.

The world kept turning, with things changing every now and then, though it was never small. Bucky finally getting better was one of the first, even if he only remembered a few things. The Maximoff twins was one of the harder ones, as they had originally tried to kill Tony, but they got along with Clint pretty well once it was all sorted. The fact that Clint and Darcy had a son named Francis that Wanda and Pietro seemed to adore didn’t hurt.

The first big, life changing thing that they choose to do, though, couldn’t have happened without the help of Bruce and his friend, Dr. Cho. Steve and Tony had a baby together. 

They had felt such a loss from Peter starting school that they sort of… idled out when he wasn’t there. So they started talking about adopting, asking the others what they thought, and talking to Pepper about legal issues. They had been in the middle of a discussion of problems with Tony, or Steve, adopting any child due to their work when Bruce brought up the genetic testing and the cell incubator that Dr. Cho was working on. 

There was a lot of science things that Steve didn’t completely understand when they went to talk to Dr. Cho, but the idea was fairly simple. They took the sperm of one of them and made it so their was only X chromosomes, then turned it into an egg so that the others sperm to fertilize. This way, they still had a child that was both of them, and none of a surrogate. 

By the time Peter was six, they had a bouncing baby boy named James Howard Stark-Rogers. They had quite a bit of fun when Rhodey and Bucky were asking who James was named after, but in truth, it was both of them, and his middle name was after Tony’s father, of course. They decided that Howard might not have been a good father, but he had been a good man. 

When they had brought little James home, with his big blue eyes and peach fuzz of brown hair, Peter had been more than fascinated with his new baby brother. He had spent hours after coming home from school playing with James, or helping feed him. Steve sometimes got the idea that he didn’t really know what it was like to have a baby, since their house was so small that Peter and James shared a room allowed Peter to usually calm James before either of them could get in the room. 

What surprised Steve the most about having James was that while Tony had always been kind and caring with Peter, giving him all the time he could spare, Tony went into overdrive with James. Tony had, of course, hesitated at first: careful when holding James, never resisting when one of their friends wanted to hold James, always waiting until he had to pick him up unless absolutely necessary. By the time James could crawl, though, Tony was doing everything he could to keep the baby close. 

Steve didn’t hate that Tony loved James so much, as he could never fault Tony for loving his children, but Pepper was less than pleased when Tony slowed his production by one fourth to spend more time playing with James when Steve was out on missions. They were still on top by a large margin, but the stock dropped a little by the decrease. 

They became a boom when Tony started making baby related products that flew off the shelves. In fact, Tony made more money making things for families then he had for making weapons.    
They continued on like that for a while, clearly not the 'billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist' anymore. He was Tony Stark, loving father and husband. It only got solidified with the press, who had been waiting for a Tony Stark slip up, when it was Tony asking if they could have another baby. 

So, when James was three and Peter was nine, they had another baby. Sarah Maria Stark-Rogers was born almost a week after Peggy's death, but she was welcome to the world with open arms.

Bucky had took one look at this one, and said that she was like a chubby version of Steve when he was little. And Sarah was, with his mess of soft blond hair and big blue eyes. Tony adored her all the same, becoming a stay at home father to accommodate their bundles of giggling, or crying, joy. They ended up moving back to the Tower to make up for the lost space, so it didn't hurt that 'work' was just downstairs. 

They were quite the happy family, with kids to love and parents who loved. They had their ups and downs, but so did all families. The only difference for Tony and Steve was they would always come back to one another. 

They had a bond that lasted lifetimes, after all.

  
~Fin~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's very, very short, but that's mainly because I'm planning on making a sequel for Wade and Peter. It's been lots of fun writing for all you lovely readers, and I hope that when the sequel arrives, you all will enjoy it as much as I'll enjoy writing it.


End file.
